Angel of Death
by SocialistBukharin
Summary: I wasn't supposed to be picked by the CCG, I had 'failed' that exam back in the Academy. Yet I am here, discovering how much is right and how much is wrong about my job as Investigator. But how easy will all of this be if the CCG's own Reaper is supposedly my mentor? NO SLASH! Maybe some fluff! AU!
1. Starting with a loud bang (1)

**DISCLAIMER**

**The following is a fan-based**

**FICTION**

**Tokyo Ghoul, Tokyo Ghoul Root A and Tokyo Ghoul:re and other products related to the TG Series are all owned by Sui Ishida, Shin Towada and Shueisha.**

**Please support the official release.**

* * *

**Prologue****: Starting with a loud bang (1)**

* * *

The Commission of Counter Ghoul is an organisation that had long-lived many institutions of the post-WW2 Japanese period.

Founded in the late 19th century by the renowned Washuu Clan, the CCG prospered as a powerful political and jurisdictional company in Japan, superior in seniority and expertise to the police in cases regarding Ghouls.

Yet things were different than decades earlier.

As democracy replaced authoritarianism, the previous conscription system was replaced with a facultative two-years long preparation program established in the Ghoul Investigators Training Academy.

The tuition was cheap and with Tokyo's Ghoul stable population, every prior training was well accepted by the population.

"Ohi, are you doing another of your inner monologues?"

I blinked and stared in surprise to the one who interrupted my line of thoughts.

White hair, stiches, inquisitive red eyes.

Those were the main intriguing details that Juuzou Suzuya had that made him a curious individual to know.

"Ryo-kun?"

I sighed, tiredness getting some hold over my poor brain. "Sorry, Juuzou. I-It's just anxiety distracting me.."

The quirky boy nodded and returned to stare at the loud mass of graduates excitedly talking about the final exam.

My name is Ryouga Kaizo, 19, investigator-in-training, and I was not finding peace in the chaotic trail fiercely drilling on my mind.

While I had decided came here dressed formally (as everyone did for this important day), I would be a liar if I denied feeling slightly jealous with Juuzou's brave move of keeping the same outfit he would use _every single day_.

But my mouth didn't voice any of those unimportant thoughts, knowing full well that this kind of comments would have truly been cruel to say to my _confident _best friend.

It was no secret, having been close to the seemingly insane person that was white-haired teen since day one, that Juuzou was not treated properly by the Academy staff.

It was also no secret that there were was a nutjob among the teachers, those who were supposed to help them fight murderous monsters, and that nobody seemed to mind him playing mindgames with people.

Goumasa Tokage was a twisted man that lost some screw while working, and that was me being lenient with the man's description.

The bald man had been an important operative in some shady section of the organisation but somehow his doubtful sanity became reason for his supervisors to be concerned and soon the maniac was demoted to instructor.

There were rumors among those who have parents or relatives in the CCG that Arima himself had intervened in the case and pushed Goumasa into this position, one that was meant to be harmless.

If the White Reaper himself supported this change, then there was truly some big reason behind it.

Plus...

***Crack***

..there was that _habit_.

"Good morning, class. I hope you are ready for those.. _tests_."

The clearly unstable teacher started to hand over the paper for the exam and looked blankly to every student... except when was Juuzou's turn.

The man paused, his unnerving eyes staring fondly at the boy as a _weird_ smile formed in his face.

"Good luck, Suzuya-_kun_."

A shiver spread in my back as his voice, coated in barely hidden hate, left his mouth.

The teacher seemingly broke the focus on the white-haired teen and returned to his task.

Once everyone received the paper, Goumasa returned to the front of the classroom.

"You have thirty minutes to finish the test. _Good luck_."

The last two words sounded ominous and left more dread in the graduates' mind.

I stared in surprise as Juuzou merely shrugged and silently started to compile his paper.

Shaking my head, I commenced my own test and started to answer the questions about Ghoul Biology, Ghoul Behavior and Quinque Studies.

Fifteen minutes later and few times returning back on some questions to add some more details to their answers, I blinked in surprise as I realised that I had finished the whole exam.

I, Ryouga Kaizo, an average student in the GITA, had finished what was supposed to be an incredibly difficult test so easily...

With as sigh I felt relief washing upon my body and, not having much to do, my eyes landed on my quirky friend's test.

...Was that a dog? And.. a cat? What the-

"Juuzou-kun?"

The white-haired teen paused his action to turn his _innocent_ eyes on me.

"Yes, Ryo-kun?"

At first my voice lacked the strength to formulate the question in my mind but I finally managed to release some stuttered words at what I was seeing there.

"Y-You are.. _w-why are you_ _doodling?_"

Several kitty faces were drawn here and there in the blank spots where the answers were supposed to be written in.

He blinked once, before shrugging silently and returning to his exam.

_Classic Juuzou's move.._

I continued to stare at him in shock before returning to stare once more at his papers and...

"He didn't give you the proper exam.."

Juuzou kept drawing distractedly but nodded absently at my affirmation and my concern about his quirky friend's chances of passing the year started to rage in my aching brain.

Quick fragments of the previous days echoed in my head as I remembered the cheerful pitch in the fellow orphan's words when we discussed about our graduation.

_"Do you think we will share the same senior investigator, Ryo-kun?"_

_My brows rose as I stared blankly at the 'innocent' red orbs of the extrovert friend._

_"Juuzou-kun, you know that it's always a 2-men team composition when they make the squads."_

_I rolled as the slightly older, but less mature schoolmate of mine huffed childishly._

_"But then we wouldn't be having fun like always."_

_The whine wasn't onesided somehow for me._

_It wouldn't have been bad to be in a team Juuzou but... it would harm the two of us if we didn't stop for a second to realise the harsh reality and focus to open up with the other colleagues._

_"Don't worry, we would still do the Saturday's Pizza Day."_

_His eyes glowed in remembrance. "And Sunday's Horror Night?"_

_I nodded, a small smile tingling in my face as we both exchanged a loud chuckle._

"Juuzou-kun.." The white-haired teen paused once more as he noticed the distinct _new _tone in my voice. "Pass me your paper."

Juuzou blinked, glanced for a moment the paper, and complied with some hesitancy.

* * *

_At least Juuzou will be able to pass._

Those were the words that kept me from actually go full-depressed on that situation.

Goumasa will not try to call out the switch, knowing full well that he would have been exposed with that stupid trick of his.

I sighed as I remembered that life wasn't fair.

In a single moment I choose that the very friend that had been eager to pass with me should be the one to be happy.

The air was getting heavy as it had just stopped to rain in the 4th Ward and I hoped I wouldn't get some cold from the lack of anything relatively warm other than the jacket of the formal suit.

I was in my merry way to the flat partly paid by the CCG when I heard several gunshots echoing near where I was.

I stopped a brief moment to remember if I there had been some raids announced for today. I blinked as I was sure today was meant to be a normal day.

Against my best judgement and sense of self-preservation, I decided to investigate, ignoring the small crowds running away from the heated zone.

Six Ghouls. Red cloaks hid their features, their Kagunes being the only identifiable elements as they teared throught the small squadron of CCG's enforcers almost effortlessly.

Why was the group alone? Generally there should have been at least two.. inve-stigators!

I stared at the lifeless corpses of two men carrying Quinque cases, their chest pierced and, from their permanent shocked expression, they had been stabbed in a sneak attack possibly from the same aggressor.

In that very moment I felt I had been put in a very difficult decision: I know how to use Quinques, everyone that was part of the Academy knew how to use them. The two cases were relatively close and the team had small chances of getting out of there alive.

I weighted the pros and cons of the situation, trying to ignore the grunts of pain from the men as I finally made my choice.

My legs hurted as I strained them to go at faster pace than I would usually run with and I knew the wet ground and my quick steps would alert some of the Aogiri's grunts on my presence.

I felt wind coming towards me and slided downards as several shards from an Ukaku tried to kill me from long range.

I reached the bodies and took the two Quinques out, grimacing a little at the choice I had been presented with.

One of the cases.. broken and thus I was forced to rely on the remaining weapon to defend myself from the approaching pack.

**Yukimaru 1/3**, this muramasa-katana Quinque was supposed to have been replaced by now, being too much unreliable in its abilities and qualities.

I was half-tempted to try my fate by beating the crap out of the incoming Ghouls with the cases but.. _beggars can't be choosers._

The first one to attack was a Koukaku with a cone-like lance that formed around his arm. I was certain that the small green plaques would have resisted to the old blade and thus I made a small bet.

If the two grunts didn't knew I was part of the Academy, my feint and dodge would be rewarded big time. If this failed, I was good as dead.

He tried to spearhead me, a yell dripping off bloodlust and amusement was cut short as Yukimaru did its job and cut cleanly his arm off, exploiting the small gap between the Kagune and his armpit.

A shriek of pain sounded beautifully as I engaged my second opponent, a Bikaku with a purple, baseball bat top.

This one was actually reluctant to show any opening in his stance and thus I had to make some feints to expose his weak points.

His Kagune was slow and the young man tried to use his fists and kicks to make an edge out of that disadvantage.

A wrong move to engage a quinque specialised in close-range with something pretty average like a Bikaku.

Yukimaru drew blood on the inexperienced thug and, while he tried to retreat away by using his kagune as a distraction, I decided that _he had to come to me._

I let the Kagune miss my body, letting the blade in my hand stab it vertically, making the Ghoul pause in his attempts to run.

With a vigorous yell, I pulled the kagune backwards, propelling the cowards towards me and... into the malfunctioning case.

As soon as the AT member's face crashed on the steel-like case, the Quinque inside it was activated, revealing a prepped up **Douhi.**

The long-range quinque quickly blasted the head off the second opponent, leaving just the two Ukakus that were witnessing the scene in utter fear.

Some of them were ready to leave when several bullets slammed on their bodies, some of those reaching their heads and brain. A lead domination, I mused darkly as the two Quinques returned to their case forms.

I approached the wounded survivors of the enforcers and I was greeted by several bleeding men, everyone with a small smile in their face. "Thank God HQ actually sent some reinforcements."

I was tempted to disprove the speaker but... "What is the situation?"

"The 4th Ward is being attacked by a large group of Aogiri Tree. Several patrol posts were attacked and we suspect some are even storming towards the ward's HQ."

"Can you hold up until medics arrive?" The man that had spoken to me removed his helmet, nodding. "We sure will hold here, lad."

I nodded at them and with a small prayer I decided to go against my morale, the idea of dropping everything and not caring about this crisis.

* * *

"Attacking the 4th Ward so brazenly. I don't think this was a good idea."

If there was one thing Tatara was sure it was that his boss was a mad genius.

Crafty and subtle in dealing efficiently with the CCG's plans to obstacle them but also incredibly passionate and sometimes even suicidal when making _those_ kind of plans.

"Mah! It's not that bad." The mummy-like Ghoul exclaimed with a calm tone. "We are just showing to the CCG to keep their guard up always and.. we are also getting some fresh popularity with the rookies."

He sighed, knowing that their recruitment efforts had grown stale in the last month and.. this chaos might work to their advantage.

"How do you plan to 'deal with Arima'?"

The Owl paused before mumbling something to herself. Then she nodded. "We will think of something on the spot. Kishou is, afterall, a good liar."

Such was the fate of a simple chinese Ghoul with a dream of revenge: to be the sidekick of someone incredibly shorter, crazier and more passionate to the very cause that he had esposed.

Yet the very moment of calm passed as his eyes catched a familiar burst of flames.

"I.. I will be checking around." The short Ghoul stopped staring at the mayhem she had just caused with a mere order as her hidden eyes looked at her subordinate.

"Something catched your attention?"

The white-haired paused, continuing to stare in the distance from the skyscraper they were witnessing all of this.

"Yes."

* * *

**AN**

**I think this is one of the very few fanfics (if not the only one) to potray an OC protagonist that is part of the CCG.**

**Ryouga is... complex. Far more than any I had written, there is something hidden in every shard of his persona I will show in the following chapters?**

**Don't believe me? Then wait and watch as I create something out of nothing!**


	2. Starting with a loud bang (2)

**DISCLAIMER**

**The following is a fan-based**

**FICTION**

**Tokyo Ghoul, Tokyo Ghoul Root A and Tokyo Ghoul:re and other products related to the TG Series are all owned by Sui Ishida, Shin Towada and Shueisha.**

**Please support the official release.**

* * *

**Prologue****: Starting with a loud bang (2)**

* * *

The 4th Ward was in flames.

A burning hell not even the worst warzones could create, a scorching reality of the war between humans and Ghouls.

I had long ditched the jacket, feeling the heat of the flames slowly eroding the buildings I was passing unbearable with the warm cloth and I felt the adrenalyne rush of before returning in my veins.

The walk to reach the next section of fights was a short one, turning the corner I saw few investigators and enforcers dealing with a minor number of Aogiri Tree's members, yet they were suffering the volleys of RC shards from the Ghouls snipers in the roofs.

Douhi ached in my hand, burning fiercely as it craved some immediate action, and I complied to its desire.

Hiding my figure behind the corner, I placed Yukimaru's case on the floor and picked Douhi on both hands, my left eye scrunching to use the crude scope on the medium-long range Quinque.

I took a breath, calming my mind as I released the first shot. The unfortunate Ghoul shrieked in pain as the fire bullet consumed her upper chest, starting from her right arm joint and then reaching her masked head.

My aim moved quickly, turning to the second unsuspecting sniper and... I sighed as the following blazing hit scorched the shorter individual's chest.

The yelps seemed to finally catch the attention of the snipers as they stopped on helping their comrades in the brawl to find whoever was picking them one by one.

I grunted, knowing that another shot would have revealed my position.

Cocking Douhi one last time, I finally managed to get an headshot, killing instantly the second to last of the four snipers.

I saw a red blur in the rooftops, approaching quickly with furious steps.

Yukimaru revealed itself, its form hidden by the shadow created by the building and, as the murder-seeking Ghoul jumped over me I pulled a sharp swing with the Muramasa Katana, severing his torso from his legs.

Having studied Ghoul Biology, I didn't limit myself from picking Douhi and blasting the head off from the convulsing upper body.

The struggle on the streets had ended as I approached the group of survivors.

They just took a glance at the cases in my hand, ignoring how young and under-clothed I was.

"Your work?" I nodded as the supposed captain cackled in glee. "A delightful life-saver. We heard that the battle for the ward is intensifying with Aogiri deploying the Owl while we got Arima reinforcing soon."

The White Reaper was coming. This wasn't a mere clash anymore, this was going to turn in an even worse bloodbath.

I paused to consider the losses we were going to take to protect the civilians.

I had to make another step against the rules if I wanted to reduce the victims as I knew only one way to deal with this kind of urban warfare.

"Rally the men, we are going to regroup with the others." The captain nodded and started to bark orders as the other enforcers lined up.

"Listen up, maggots!" The officer exclaimed loudly. "We got some crappy situation around us and we need to get to help the other poor bastards!"

I almost flinched at the cussing but I knew it was a necessary factor. To channel the men's anger and hatred on the remaining groups of Aogiri in the Ward.

The column didn't waste time as we marched toward the closed battalion of Enforcers, from the loud and static messages they had been pinned by multiple Ukakus' sniping.

I grimaced when we finally arrived just near enough to see what was going on.

Ten Ukakus were attacking the CCG forces from their high ground, while another small contigent kept the humans from focusing their fire on the snipers by attacking from another side.

"Four or five men to be ready to pick the Ukakus on the roof when I call them and.. we go around."

The captain blinked at the plan before chuckling in realisation. "You heard him, men? We are going to squish those bugs!"

A chorus of glee filled my ears as I led the force around the building, sneaking onto the backs of the hiding Ukakus.

I nodded at the captain, shots loudly banging as several Ghouls fell dead from the roof and onto the streets.

The enforcers behind me didn't need further words as they stormed against the unexpected remaining force of Aogiri in that section of the Ward.

It was a brief moment of rest as the battalion I was leading mixed up with the previously stuck one.

We were at least one hundred men as we continued this little stroll to regroup, picking on the few Ghouls trying to ambush the quite large column.

Then we came to an halt as we found our path barred by a single Ghoul.

Tall, the Ghoul looked calm and positively intimidating as he waited for us to do something.

His white, long tunic matched his hair and his Bikaku was a blood-red that didn't felt like something nice to fight against.

Yet I knew we couldn't stop, behind the white-haired man there was the biggest struggle as I could see a full-fledged Kakuja being fended off by a single man.

Arima was there but there were too many little fishes outnumbering his small force.

"Captain, take the men and go around to join Arima-san's efforts." The man blinked in surprise at the orders.

"You aren't coming? I don't think he is-" "The more time we waste talking, the more from our side will die. _Go_."

A doubtful nod followed as I watched the column turning the corner on the right to reach and regroup with the Reaper's small battalion.

It took just a minute for them all to disappear from sight, leaving me several meters away from the silent Ghoul.

"A foolish move. You should have attacked-" "And lost precious time for us turning the tide? And also lose the numbers that could conquer us the edge of this battle? No."

He blinked as his red eyes stared at the case containing Douhi and I voiced the fact I had noticed it.

"You knew him?" His eyes turned cold. "The one that was before the Quinque."

He didn't reply but I knew I had hit a very sore spot as his Bikaku moved quicker, erratically even.

I smiled and let Douhi's handle go as the case fell to the ground, surprising my opponent even more.

I decided to humour his silent question. "You have let pass them all without attacking them. I think it's more than respectful to not use _him_ in this fight."

Something cold fell on my hair and soon I saw snow starting to fall all around us. What a fitting weather for the situation..

"I can't even understand your _unique_ decisions. Yet I will make sure your death is a quick time because of your last choice."

It was immediate, akin to a hellish hound pouncing at his prey as the man burned the distance incredibly quickly as his Kagune rushed at an insane pace towards me.

Yukimaru glimmed white and red as I striked in time to cut the approaching Bikaku and halting its offensive.

Not losing any of the momentum gained, I ran at the man as I had to still see how much his Kagune took to regenerate. It was rare for a Ghoul to be able to restore their wounds so quickly, some would even need to cannibalise their kin to actually unlock that very hideous thing to fight against.

My face turned grim as the Bikaku had recoiled quickly and was moving to slam onto my rushing form.

I jumped up high, letting the Kagune slam on the ground below me.

The Quinque stabbed onto the red tail, forcing it on the floor for few moments as I had a little plan to get some hits on the man.

His Bikaku was versatile, quick and incredibly adaptive. A powerful Quinque if someone got hand over his Kakuhou.

Yukimaru was red by the blood it had spilled as it was removed from the Kagune, my legs straining as I rushed through the extended Kagune at the tall Ghoul.

I considered his calm regarding this action of mine and I braced myself as I prepared a feint.

I was there, few moments from hitting the Aogiri supervisors as I saw his arms move, trying to intercept me.

He blinked in confusion as he saw I was grinning at this and his eyes widened a little as I jumped over him, spinning around with the eager blade and cutting both of his hands off.

I didn't need to think twice as I started to fiercely demolish the man's chest, Yukimaru drawing more and more blood, slashing and cutting through him without restrictions

Few seconds passed and I frowned, staring intensily at the gore I had caused and the impassive look on the individual face.

"Your plan, albeit simple and childish, was.. correct." I felt something hard colliding with my chest, pushing me away from him and onto the groudn. "Yet that Quinque isn't strong enough to cause the damage you seek to achieve."

I couldn't formulate any plan because of the pain surging from my head, a concussion from the unexpected punch, but I still tried to grab Yukimaru and I was so much lose from- I felt my hope of surviving this fight dying down as I saw the the Ghoul's feet stepping on the blade and cracking it in two.

I stared up, onto the tall Ghoul's eyes as he waited to make a kill out of me.

"Your name."

A blink, then two as a confused expression formed in my tired face.

"R-Ryouga. Ry-Ryouga Kaizo. F-Failed Academy student."

He frowned at the last bit and then turned around, walking away. "Tatara."

That was the last thing I could remember before blacking out. His name.

_Hopefully the CCG had repelled the Owl..._

* * *

**AN**

**Explanations regarding OC vs Tatara: I noticed that as I was writing Kaizo was slowly turning too much OP for being a simple rookie. Tatara beating him so quickly and effortlessly is supposed to set a serious limit to the starting capacities of the protagonist.**

**He is on Juuzou's levels right now and so he can do very little if fighting with someone too much strong or resilient to medium-to-low level Quinques.**

**I was thinking of putting this every Saturday, completely removing my free days.. (Ragnarok is coming for my sanity!)**

**Lastly feedback is always appreciated and... today is the International Day of Women, so boyos you better be giving gifting something good for your girl friends and your female relatives (chocolate or maybe even some videogames for dem real Gamer grils) or you will be in the gulag list of this Bukharin! xD **


	3. Starting with a loud bang (3)

**DISCLAIMER**

**The following is a fan-based**

**FICTION**

**Tokyo Ghoul, Tokyo Ghoul Root A and Tokyo Ghoul:re and other products related to the TG Series are all owned by Sui Ishida, Shin Towada and Shueisha.**

**Please support the official release.**

* * *

**Prologue****: Starting with a loud bang (3)**

* * *

Eto was grumbling behind her faux mask of cheerfulness.

What had been meant to be an easy attack with acceptable losses turned into a disastrous action that costed them more than half the men they had deployed.

Cannon fodders those might have been in her plan, she needed some grunts doing measle works to achieve victory.

She was ready to whine and rant about this to the ever-stoic Tatara, possibly returning from a stroll of curiousity the half-ghoul wanted to learn more about.

It had been pretty embarassing to create a good act with Kishou with four-five senior investigators joining what was meant to be a 1v1 fight and the escape had almost felt too much forced from her point of view.

The door of her little office opened and her mouth opened by habit as she spotted the familiar white-hair, yet sounds failed to leave as she noticed the state her close subordinate had returned.

"Eto-san."

Several cuts were slowly closing in his toned chest, two thin, red line going around his now exposed arms.

"When you said that **something catched your attention**, I had not considered you would have gone and play with some explosives."

"That sounds like something fitting with you doing it but.. your statement is just slightly far from the real reason behind this.." The man sighed as he contemplated where he was supposed to get another white tunic. "Let's just say that I am satisfied by what I found."

"I hope that whoever did this to you was dealt with. Even I would recognise a possible new threat that needs to be curbed early on."

Tatara decided to keep quiet, still thinking about his cloth dilemma and ignoring Eto's gasp.

"They still live! Is it a boy or a girl?" She stared at the ceiling in fake innocence. "Have you fallen in love with some dangerous girl, Tatara? I thought you only loved me."

A mock sniffling added more to the 'authenticity' of her act but the chinese man merely sighed at her antics.

"The foolish boy had two Quinques but decided to use only one against me."

That piqued the real interest from the leader of Aogiri Tree.

"What about that? I don't think that is actually a good reason to spare one of our enemies.. you growing softer, Tata-chan-" "The Quinque he refused to use was based from my brother's kagune."

His tone strained a little to impress the seriousness of his decision. "He wanted to be 'respectful' and when I asked what was his name.. he said he was a dropout student, not a rookie from the CCG camp."

It was already difficult to believe himself he had done that, showing mercy to someone who wouldn't hold back against Ghouls.

He recognised the will to live, the spark to fight for what he believed in. The same flame that once burned in his brother before he died.

Sure he wasn't being overly emotional- "BWAAAAAAHAHAHAHAH!"

Red eyes blinked as Tatara catched the shorter Ghoul rolling on the ground, laughing loudly while pointing one of her fingers at him. "Tata-chan was beaten by a cheap failure! I wonder if he is getting some gray hair under that silver on his head."

He continued to stare, letting the murderous sensation cool in his head as Eto finished to ridicule him with her childish remarks.

"All jokes aside, how good is this guy?" Genuine intrigue was falling off her words and the subordinate nodded.

"He has a good physical capacity for a human, he was able to keep up and react with my early attacks and use the low-grade Quinque to its optimal state." It was in that little verbal report that Tatara found how to return to Eto her previous insults.

As she was nodding at his early statement, the man dropped a small revelation.

"He was also the one leading the contingent of enforcers that crushed a quarter of our forces. In.. a certain way I could say that _you too_ were beaten by a **cheap failure**."

The young woman froze at the fact that the reason she got so much paperwork to deal with was the same reason that had kept her minion busy.

She also didn't miss the silent jab and she knew how to comeback from that one.

"Tatara-chan.. did you just called me old?"

Sweat started to pour out from his forehead as he felt an oppressive KI being released by Eto, realising that he had just angered someone quite sore regarding age.

His fears materialised in the form of a mad chase around Rushima Island with a furious Kakuja following him through the facility.

* * *

I could now attest without any doubt that being hospitalised sucked.

There was literally nothing to do but stare at the grey ceiling and the dark-green wall in front of me.

No magazine, no TV and especially no humanly food to consume and drow the sadness of still having to repeat the last Academy year because of a crappy teacher.

I, Ryouga Kaizo, was the most miserable in the room... well, I was the only one in that room.

I was expecting to suffer the boredom of this senseless recovery and was already surrendering to the incredibly boring hours that would follow when the door was slammed open by a very familiar individual.

Juuzou's eyes were wide open and showing an absurd amount of worry as he catched my bandaged form.

I opened my mouth ready to greet him but.. when I saw him pouncing at me I kind of let a _manly_ shriek as he impacted on my sore body.

The fact he also snuggled at me like I was some full-body pillow sent quite the weird signals to my poor brain.

"J-Juuzou!"

He seemed to realise that my greeting was tending more on a pained note than the happy one outdone by the former and jumped off the bed with a panicked expression.

"I-I-I'm sorry I didn't mean t-to hurt you and-" "Calm down, I-I am just a bit sore, nothing to worry about."

My explanation managed to get him to calm a little bit down and soon he pulled out some box with sweets inside. My mouth watered at the sight.

"I heard what they were feeding, Ryo-kun, and I decided to smuggle in something to keep you alive."

I was _immensely _thankful with that gesture of true friendship. You never leave a bro to suffer like that!

"You are a lifesaver, Juuzou." He blinked with wide eyes, a small red blush hanging on his nose.

"I-It was nothing, Ryo-kun- And it was the least I could do when you did _that_."

"_That_?" The new investigator frowned at my faux ignorance.

"You took an hit when it was mine to take. Y-You lost your chance to be an investigator-" "Because I could easily do another year of studying, plus you wouldn't have to deal with Goumasa-" "I don't care about that!"

I.. I kind of flinched at his loud reply. It was the first time I had heard him yell so loudly.

"W-We will still keep in touch! I will manage-" "I don't know if they will ever let me have _fun_ with the various cases, Ryo-kun. I think they are.. trying to pamper me to become one of their bigshots."

"Bigshots?" I was confused at that thinking. Sure Juuzou was quite good with using Quinques, much better than I was that for sure, but to actually prepare him to replace someone of grand importance? And who should be the one he should replace?

Itsuki Marude was too much level-headed to be considered a deign candidate in his list, especially since he disdained personally using Quinques.

The only one that jumped at my mind was-

The door of the room opened again, this time someone _incredibly familiar and known _entered the room.

I blinked twice, thinking that it was just some crazy dream, yet **he **was there.

White hair, formal suit and glasses. Arima Kishou, the White Reaper, had entered his hospital's room.

Juuzou seemed confused by the man, possibly having not heard of the infamous investigator.

"Arima-san?" The man nodded and extended his open hand at me, which I took as a sign to shake it. "Forgive me for asking but what are you doing here?"

"Director Tsuneyoshi wish for you a quick recovery and to thank you for your helping hand in intervening in the 4th Ward." He smiled a little. "I also wish to thank you for having saved many of our enforcers with your quick-thinking."

I nodded shocked by his words. Tsuneyoshi Washuu knew what he had done and was thanking him!?

"I-I don't have words to express my s-surprise-" "You could just say that you accept this."

He pulled a small form from his satchel and handed it over to me, my eyes instantly scanning its content and getting wider the more I read.

"Y-You mean I.. I am officially joining the CCG?" The man nodded. "Your actions and your curriculum at the Academy made a good impression to the director and he has.. _looked_ at the papers that would have caused you to not pass."

"You mean Ryo-kun is going to become an investigator?"

Arima nodded once more. "Yes."

My body felt numb even through I could feel Juuzou crushing my ribs with his quick embrace but I smiled widely. "T-That is amazing."

"And there is one last thing I have yet to tell, Ryouga-san. The director has already chosen a mentor to pair you with."

_YATTA! I was an investigator and I was joining the CCG with Juuzou! But who was my partner?_

I blinked calmly and waited for the man to continue, to reveal the name of the senior investigator that was going to teach me through the first few years as a rookie.

Nothing was said and I waited a little longer for him to truly speak.

I started to frown when the silence continued and felt even more confused when the thin, blank line in his face twitched upwards when- "You... you are going to be mentoring me."

"That is a correct deduction." He replied with a soft tone of delight. "I am happy to see that you could recognise this with little hints."

I took a breath and smiled. "Then I will entrust myself to you, Arima-san."

* * *

**AN**

**Before anyone asks no, Ryouga will not be Haise v2. I had thought of that possibility but I have to admit that Haise's perspective in the CCG is quite limited by both his nature and the fact the action is centered with the Quinx Squad.**

**Ryouga's perspective will be go even deeper than the one I had in the CCG Rep****airman with Shirou. Our protagonist will know more characters as he climbs up the ladder to become the strongest Investigator... and not only that.**


	4. Case 1 - A Sad Symphony (1)

**DISCLAIMER**

**The following is a fan-based**

**FICTION**

**Tokyo Ghoul, Tokyo Ghoul Root A and Tokyo Ghoul:re and other products related to the TG Series are all owned by Sui Ishida, Shin Towada and Shueisha.**

**Please support the official release.**

* * *

**Case 1****: A Sad Symphony (1)**

* * *

It's been two days ever since I had been accepted in the CCG and one since I got out from the hospital.

Sure I was still quite sore and slow because I had been inactive with training but the small session I had yesterday sure helped me catching up with my usual schedule.

It was quite early in the morning when I entered the CCG HQ in the 1st Ward and I was so much giddy of being Arima's partner that I mostly ignored the attitude the receptionist had when I had asked about the laboratories.

She had scowled, my eyes finding an empty cup of coffee in front of her, showing that she might as well have not slept for a long time.

Eventually in the rant that ensued about her life and how annoying I was, I managed to get out the floor and the general direction where the Quinques were developed.

Just like I had seen much in the small trips my class had to go during my first two years, the main laboratory was a beautiful scientific complex that was the best specialised in Ghoul Studies.

As I stepped inside the massive room, I could see various investigators and scientists chatting regarding some of the cases in display.

"Are you the new one?" I blinked and stared at the particular researcher that had approached me.

His hair were a dark tone of green that were styled in a mushroom-like afro.

I got a chill vibe from the young man and nodded at his question. "I have to take two Quinques."

"Two?" The scientist asked, his surprise regarding the unusually 'high' number of cases I had to pick even if I was new. "Are you the new owner of a copy of Yukimaru 1/3 and of Douhi?"

"Yes?" At my reaction the man grinned. "I heard about you. You were the one that went deep in the 4th and saved several people. Oh, my name is Chigyou Kouitsu by the way."

"Ryouga Kaizo." We shook hands as he led me to where the two Quinques had been left.

"It was a pity that your copy of Yukimaru had been destroyed during the fight. It's always a sad day to see a Quinque breaking down so harshly."

"Indeed." I muttered restrictedly, feeling a curious note in his tone that made him seem.. too much attached to the weapons. "Actually, might I ask you something about Yukimaru?"

"Sure! Do you wish to change some of its colours or-" "I wasn't talking about aesthetics. I.. is it possible to give it a damage upgrade? Like improving its capacity to pierce through tough barriers?"

"You want to see Yukimaru pierce through the Ghoul that had beaten you?" He snorted as he noticed my surprised expression. "It was all in the reports with the Quinques. Still I think I might be able to work out something to make your little thirst of revenge be quenced."

"Actually-" "These are the Quinques." Chigyou handed me the cases with a big smile and was blocked my attempted protest regarding his misunderstanding. "And I advise you to reach Marude-san before he get a bad impression out of you."

I paled a little as I had indeed forgotten that I was supposed to debrief... in two minutes.

Shrieking an half goodbye, I rushed out of the laboratories and started to run like a madman.

One minute later and I was opening the door for the briefings and- "Good morning, young man. Happy to see that you finally decided to reach our gracious meeting."

Marude Itsuki was as scary as I remembered the only time he had been visiting the Academy.

A man quick to anger even if someone complied with his order. Someone incredibly difficult to satisfy in following his lead.

"I-I had to recover my Quinques, M-Marude-san." "It's Marude-dono, you maggot and you better reach your seat as I am already tired with-" As he ranted about his morning, I walked onto the only empty table of the entire room, ignoring the stares and snickers from some of my new co-workers.

"Anyway, now that Ryouga-_hime_ had decided to deign us with his presence we might as well start with our usual meeting."

The dark-haired man turned towards a pair of investigators, asking for their reports, while I noticed a very, _very_ unusual thing where I was.

Usually mentors were supposed to be at the entrance to introduce their newest partner to how things worked at the HQ, yet I had ignored completely the fact that Arima had been missing both at the entrance and at the laboratory.

The issue was.. he wasn't even in the meeting room.

As I panicked I completely ignored the whole reports the fellow investigators were asked for and almost missed the approaching stern chief.

"Ryouga, stop twitching like some chicken. Your first case shall be with me. Yes, Arima-san is a very busy individual with serious missions only he and his Squad 0 can succeed."

I had so many questions. Why was Arima my mentor if he was that much occupied with other missions, what was Squad 0 and _WHY I WAS PAIRED WITH MARUDE IN MY FIRST CASE?!_

* * *

**Case: 153458**  
**Team**_**: **_  
_**\- **_**Special Class Investigator **_**Marude Itsuki **_**(Leader)**  
_**-**_** Investigator Class 3**_** Ryouga Kaizo **_**(Subordinate)**

**Setting**_**: 9th Ward**_  
**Description**_**: Reports from the TPD has confirmed the active presence of Ghoul activity in the 9th Ward. From 10-12 murders in the last two weeks, few limbs remaining in few situations, mostly pools of blood found by patrols.**_

* * *

The 9th Ward is part of the Corporate section of Tokyo, a portion of the capital that house several headquarters of various renowned corporations, among them the Bamco Nambai Games, SOM Burger and the Tsukiyama Group.

It is a well-guarded area of the city because of its importance and not many Ghouls hunted on this zone for _good reasons_.

To learn that someone of their ilk would be willing to venture in this unkind section was ludicrous to even think about.

"Desperation is a powerful thing, Ryouga. Keep your head up as we might as well be ambushed for now reason."

I blinked at the man as per his order we were going around by foot on the particularly busy Ward.

"I think we will have to split if we want to cover most ground. I will search around the part of the Ward near the end of the Business District, you will take care of the sector near Shinagawa Kumin Park."

I nodded at the demand but was about to protest the fact he was leaving me to deal with _eventual _ambushes as he went to do _not what an Investigator should do at work,_ yet he was gone by the time I finished nodding, leaving me to sigh at my bad luck.

I entered the natural park with a wary expression, ignoring the giggles and laughs of children playing around, their parents hanging close to watch over them.

My chest ached at the few memory I had of my parents.. before _that incident_ happened, and I was quick to try and find an abandoned space to think how to patrol the large park.

I was certain to have found one but I seemingly ended up in a reclused section of the park where few children were... mobbing on a crying one. "Hey!"

I don't know if it was just the sight of an adult approaching or because I had two cases in my hands, but the small group of bullies turned around in panic and, seeing me walking towards them, scattered away from my reach, possibly to return to their parents.

I sighed and walked slowly towards the little girl that was trying to get up, wide-eyed and surprised at the fact someone had walked there. "Are you okay?"

She didn't answer at first and flinched a little as I crouched close to her to see if she was hurt.

A frown appeared on my visage as I noticed a nasty cut on her knee and pulled out a little band-aid package that Juuzou had gifted me when we returned to our flat.

It was a childish one with smiling animals in on the exterior and I found it somehow fitting it was being used to help a kid.

She blinked in surprise as I applied the band-aid to her wound and patted it softly. "Pain, pain go away." She smiled a little at the silly chant and I nodded. "Your pain will leave soon. Oh, I almost forgot to present myself. I am Ryouga Kaizo."

"E-Emi." She catched my open palm with her smaller hands and we shook hands. "Emi? What a pretty name for a pretty girl."

She giggled softly, an hand covering her mouth and muffling it. "L-Liar."

"Wha? But it's true! I'm super-honest." Another giggle and I smiled widely as I helped her getting up from the floor.

We ended up sitting on a solitary bench. "So why were those scoundrels hurting you?"

She opened her mouth but her expression grew saddened incredibly quickly. "I-I." She closed her mouth, unsure what to say.

"There is no pressure, Emi-chan. Reply only if you want to, I will not force you to speak."

She blinked and smiled absently. "Thank you." It was soft, almost unhearable... but my ears catched it. "T-They were saying t-that my mom didn't love me b-because she never come to watch me here."

It was absurd how some children could get mean for so little. "They are just brats, Emi-chan. Your mom surely loves you tons if she works so hard for you."

"Really?" The girl asked so desperately and I nodded at her. "I bet you are her world."

She smiled at that and nodded. "T-Thank you, Ryo-niisan."

"You are welcome."

"W-What about you, Ryo-niisan? D-Does your mom love you a lot?"

My smile felt forceful to kept but nodded. "I think she does.. she is not here anymore."

Her mouth opened in surprise and she seemed mortified by that.

"I-I didn't knew-" "It's okay, Emi-chan." I patted her head as I sighed calmly. "I think she loves me up in the sky where she is now."

"I-I don't think that." Emi said with a clear tone, confusing me. "I-I _know _she does because you are a nice Oniichan!"

I chuckled and gave her another pat, her smile widening at the praising gesture.

We chatted about few other random things before she had to go, leaving me back to what I was supposed to do.

Planning out how to patrol the park fully and without leaving any possible gap in the patrols.

_At least I made sure someone is happy today..._

* * *

**Introducing second OC, Emi! **

**Basic Informations: Waist-long, black hair, black eyes. She dress in a small, red skirt and a dark-blue, long-sleeved shirt. She is 9 and her birthday is in January 4th.**


	5. Case 1 - A Sad Symphony (2)

**DISCLAIMER**

**The following is a fan-based**

**FICTION**

**Tokyo Ghoul, Tokyo Ghoul Root A and Tokyo Ghoul:re and other products related to the TG Series are all owned by Sui Ishida, Shin Towada and Shueisha.**

**Please support the official release.**

* * *

**Case 1****: A Sad Symphony (2)**

* * *

I was pretty irked after spending a whole night alone in the park for nothing.

There was no attempt from the suspected Ghoul to kidnap any of the few people that used this time to jog around the ardous paths of the area.

The problem wasn't that I had expected some action this early in my career, quite the opposite, but I was quite annoyed that even in that peaceful setting that was the nighttime park, the cool wind reducing the warmth of the hot weather.. and I couldn't enjoy it with even a single nap.

It was around 10AM, around the time the park officially opened that I returned to the car to find a visibly rested Marude.

"From your face I can say you got nothing on our little trickster." I merely blinked as he continued, a small map set on the front of the car. "I have searched around for anything that could serve best for an hideout in the deep crevices of the Ward. There were some interesting hints of a group having nested around in the past, nothing that could help us in the present."

"Could it know we are here?" It was a plausible theory. While my situation could be explained with bad timing, Marude's own predicament was intriguing to say the least.

There should have been a spot where the responsible should have slept or get some quiet time while eating.

"Possible but I doubt this is the reason. The last remaining of the hideout I found is from five to eight years ago, no Ghoul is so precise in cleaning up their mess."

"Then that means the park is the only place where we can prepare an ambush-" "I will, kid."

I blinked at the interruption and voiced by protest. "But I thought-" "I don't need you thinking, Ryouga." The older investigator stated calmly. "Not yet, at least. If, and I repeat, IF I need your help with something I will contact you, understood?"

I nodded and, as I started to make my way away from the park, the man grumbled about 'brats lacking respect', causing me to sigh at the incredibly infuriating superior.

In a normal situation I would have pressed for having a more active role in the investigation but I could _feel_ that I was too tired to be able to accomplish anything with any task he could have asked from me.

So I set to reach the section of the wards with some restaurants, ignoring most of the people squishing in the crowds forming in the sidewalks.

At least that was the plan as I felt someone incredibly small wrap their short arms around my chest. "Kai-niichan!"

A small smile formed in my tired features as I turned around to greet a smiling Emi. "Emi-chan, it's good to see you! Where you going to the park?"

She shooked her head. "I was actually taking a walk around home, Kai-niichan. What are you doing here?"

"I was going to grab something to eat, do you want to come with me?" The girl frowned a little and seemed to be ready to deliver some excuse when the sound of her stomach rumbling loudly reached my ears, Emi blushing a little in embarassment. "C'mon, I am paying."

She looked a little uncertain as I stretched softly my open palm towards her but, as her hunger started to poke for food, she let her smile return as she got hold of my hand.

"Lead the way, Kai-niichan!"

* * *

I chuckled a little as I stared at the childish wonder playing in Emi's eyes as she took the first bite on the small sandwich of the many I had bought. "Is it yummy?"

She gave me an happy look before nodding quickly, finishing devouring the delicious treat.

We were sitting in one of the benches near a basketball field, watching a match between two teams made up by several men in their late twenties.

"Which team do you think will win, Kai-niichan?"

I hummed quietly as I stared at the heated game with a simple analysing look.

Team N1 were those wearing white shirts and they seemed to be more refreshed than their opponents.

Team N2 seemed tired as their skintone easily seemed to get closer and closer to the color of their red shirts, but they seemed to be keeping a very rigorous scheme.

"I think the red team will win."

"Oh?" She blinked at my answer, looking deeply in the game before nodding to herself. "They seem much more focused."

"That is part of the reason, I suppose." I stated as I patted her head to reward her little reply. "The red team is keeping a standard basketball strategy, generally used only by official teams. They are professionists."

"So the white team have not.. trained?" She asked in a confused tone and I blinked. "That I cannot say for sure without asking them. What I meant is that the red team has played for _more_ than the white team. They are experienced and know much how to defuse some offensive and counterattack efficiently."

Emi seemed to be really trying to understand my words and I smiled as she groaned in her arms. "This is so difficult."

"It's alright, Emi-chan." I tried to sound appeasing to calm her a little. "This game was incredibly difficult for me to understand when I was little."

"Really?" She asked, her attention fully on me but I couldn't understand why she would ask about that- Oh, she ended her share of sandwiches.

"Yes." I started as turned back on the game. "I never liked to play basketball back at the orphanage. I would just stare and sometimes be the referee of some games, never being the player in any of those."

"Oh." The girl looked saddened by something. "I-I'm sorry if I had brought some bad memories, Kai-niichan."

"Bad memories?" I asked in a funny tone. "You mean _boooring_ memories, you adorable child." She giggled as I picked her up and close to my chest.

"Wanna go somewhere else?" She seemed to think about it, before shaking her head.

"Actually I promised mommy to return home soon." Emi stated in a shy tone and I sighed.

"Well, that means I shall escort you back home, oh fair maiden!" She giggled all the way as she told me which streets to take to reach her house.

I admit I have seen better places for a child to live and this certainly went much below the standards of the orphanage I grew up in.

It was a decaying old garage, I could for sure say that it had seen better days but.. this was so unhealthy, so bad.

"Are you sure this is the place, Emi-chan?"

She looked confused at the question, possibly not seeing the issue in living in such building, but she nodded and, as she reached ground, she skipped towards the place.

This.. couldn't be right.

I decided to follow her inside, ignoring whatever legal issue there was as this was clearly not a good place for a child to live and grow in.

As I stepped inside the place, I felt someone moving behind me and I did the only thing I could do to protect myself.

The case of Yukimaru, still closed, smacked the attacked by its side, sending it crashing on a one of the walls.

"Y-You will not harm her!"

What?

The ambusher was a brunette with short-hair and her face riddled with some cuts.

My eyes didn't catch her clothes as they focused on a very dangerous feature of the woman, a bloody knife in her hands.

The blood had dried on the dangerous blade and she seemed more than eager to hurt more.

"Mommy, no!" Emi rushed towards us and I turned to look at her panicking face. A mistake.

I was tackled, the knife up in the air poising to stab me from above, the mother's eyes glinting in madness as it descended towards me-*Schlitz!*

She paused for a moment, a surprised expression in her face as she turned on her side to see a blue drill-like blade puncturing her thigh, her sobbing child holding- _no, manouvering the Kagune deep in her. _"I-I-I'm sorry."

The older female fell, life draining from her face as the child dispersed her Kagune, rushing towards her mother's dying body. "Mommy, don't go. P-Please don't go!"

I was staring in shock as the Ghoul kneeled to embrace her human parent's corpse, my mind having issues with what was going on.

The girl ate sandwich, _normal food_, how could she be a Ghoul!?

A slow but growing whisper in my mind demanded me to do my duty of investigator, to proceed with the standard procedure with child Ghouls.

My hand felt heavy in trying to get the case of Yukimaru to open...

**But it didn't bulge nor opened.**

"E-Emi?"

Her sobs diminished mometarely, her head slowly turning towards me and showing something even more absurd.

One of her eyes had.. turned in a Kakugan.

That was not possible, I repeated loudly in my head, this is just a hallucination-

I blinked as the girl crashed on my chest and started to sob loudly on it, my body stuck in place as I tried to make sense of my life in that very moment.

What was I supposed to do?

She was a ghoul, that was a fact, but she _didn't need to eat human flesh_.

Could she be helped? _Should_ she be helped?

So much mental weight was starting to add up to the girl's very own and I.. I made a decision.. one that could easily end my career.

"Emi-chan." The girl's head moved to look at mine and I sighed gravely. "I-I know it hurts but.. I need you to.. do something for me."

Confusion was easily lost in her despair but she nodded shakily at my words as I told her to start getting her clothes in a bag or two, my hand taking the phone out of one of my pockets as she did so.

"_Ryo-kun! I was about to call you myself to tell you how awesome our first case was and how cool Shinohara is!_"

"T-That is good to hear, Juuzou-kun."

"_Your voice is wavering.. something bad happened to you!_"

"Not.. Not to me. Are you currently home?"

"_I was! Man, you should have seen how dull the receptionist was when we reported. Such a bi-"_

"N-Not important. I need you to come by the 1st Ward and pick someone very important."

"_...Did you get a girlfriend?_"

"No." I sighed in my hands. "I need you to pick this girl.. her mother is dead and- Just come and pick her, I will explain once I return home."

"_Geez, you sure are angry now. But I will demand two pizzas for dinner for this favour."_

"Deal."

"_I'm on my way!~_"

I sighed as the phone call ended and I waited for Juuzou to come.

It sure was going to be a crappy situation to explain to incredibly eccentric friend but.. it sure was going to be worse to deal with Marude and the possible excuse he was going to use with that.

The bloodied knife... she was the one responsible for the murders in the park and.. she was trying to feed her daughter that.. but why?

Why would she force her daughter to eat human meat if she was more than capable of digesting normal food?!

A difficult question, one that I would have liked to know from the now dead woman.

For being the first case in my long journey within Tokyo I was sure this was easily going to be one of the most memorables.

* * *

**AN**

**I know many people are expecting this to converge on the canon timeline and.. This is a brand, new story!**

**The cases will be mostly original but I will still keep up with some important events being highlighted in the background at first (Mado's death being one of the many examples). Then there will be some major situations like the 11th Ward Operation and the Kanou's case that will unite Kaneki's path with the OC.**

**When they will met? Man, that is going to be a true brawl for sure..**

**Lastly, the case 1's aftermath is going to be next chapter and will see the first report compiled with Kaizo's fabricated predicament and Juuzou being convinced to not murder the adorable half-ghoul.**


	6. Case 1 - A Sad Symphony (END)

**DISCLAIMER**

**The following is a fan-based**

**FICTION**

**Tokyo Ghoul, Tokyo Ghoul Root A and Tokyo Ghoul:re and other products related to the TG Series are all owned by Sui Ishida, Shin Towada and Shueisha.**

**Please support the official release.**

* * *

**Case 1****: A Sad Symphony (END)**

* * *

"This is a mess.."

I was silent as Marude finally arrived to the place where the woman had perished.

Emi had long been taken by a curious Juuzou back to our shared appartment, his questions thankfully avoided by the promise of explaining later after I had finished to report back to HQ.

"This will have to be analysed by out techies but.. I think you might have found the responsible of the deaths.." The man sighed as he put the blood-stained knife in a special container for further controls. "A cannibal, living in this Ward for crying outloud.."

I didn't felt the need to express my agreement to this explanation, knowing that I was stepping dangerously near the bad end of the line that could have got me not only removed from the CCG but also jailed for having aided a Ghoul.

No defense about my reasons and my solutions would have worked in a normal courtroom and thus lying was the only viable way for the moment.

N-Nobody told us that there were half-Ghouls back at the Academy! No one. What should I have done? What was the real standard procedure for this kind of scenarios?

So much left unanswered and the bitter taste of having orphaned a child I _knew about and trusted me..._

What a bloody irony, the orphan that makes orphans.

I closed my eyes and sighed to myself, praying to not mess up once returning back to the flat.

It wasn't Juuzou that was going to be an issue. The white-haired teen probably had already started to play silly games with Emi and-*Sigh*- I was going to deal with this fallout.

Emi had killed her own mother for.. me. I was a stranger, an unknown individual but the child had decided to help me, sacrificing her only parent in the process.

Why this made no sense, WHY NOTHING MADE NO SENSE AND-

"You are not at fault, kid." The senior Investigator muttered as he crouched down close to me. "This woman... she wasn't right in her head."

"I could.. I could have tried to avoid confrontations, I could-" "You could have died but you didn't."

I kept quiet as the man sighed, taking a small smoke packet from one of the pockets in his pants and putting it in his mouth.

"Every case, may it be simple, complex and even crazy... they all take something from us, they make us think more and more about our past actions." He blinked as the smoke was lit up from his lighter. "You defended yourself and I hope that this woman wasn't harboring any child in this hellhole. Brutal thing, I suppose she was."

I actually paused my thoughts with that last bit of information.

Marude wasn't wrong about the dead mother had been way too much murderous for her to be actually normal around Emi.

A small part of me, that very part that knew how truly sick this world was, started to whisper a doubt.

A doubt so big and dreadful that I couldn't but realise how possible it was it to be.

_What if the blood in that knife wasn't just from the victims... but there was Emi's too?_

Terrible shivers went through my bones but I managed to keep myself unmoving during that reaction to that thought.

Now he felt like he had to truly reach home as quickly as he could.

* * *

_"Go back home, Ryouga. I will deal with the hag myself.. but just this time! Don't make me regret my generosity with this case."_

I sighed as Marude effectively pulled me away from dealing with some annoying bureaucratic process I would have had to suffer for my first case.

The walk back home was uneventful.. yet I felt somewhat naked without the Quinques, as if I was confined in a world of wolves and I was the only sheep.

Maybe it was because my investigator's mindset had kicked in or-No. I sighed again as I continued for my steps towards the apartment, knowing full well that the very situation of getting jumped by someone and being almost killed was... _terrifying._

The handle of the front door stood before me as my hand grasped it softly, turning it and unlocking the door to the flat.

I had already resigned to deal with- "Wooho! That was cool, Emi-tan!"

I could hear Juuzou's cheerful voice mixed with familiar giggles, making me incredibly concerned for two major reasons.

1) Juuzou was very difficult to get this happy without showing anything dangerous to him and 2) there was only one thing that Emi could do to actually surprise.

... OH NO!

I rushed towards the living room, the lights and the sounds coming from there confirming that they were inside that specific part of the house and I- gawked as I stared at the incredibly absurd scene.

Juuzou was in tears from the laughs he was having, several fruits in his arms as he threw one or two at Emi.. the girl having her Kagune fully deployed and enjoying doing... Fruit Ninja?!

"Juuzou!"

The teen paused and turned towards me with a big smile. "Ryo-kun, you could have told me Emi-tan is this cool!"

The girl's spear-like tendril dissolved as the girl rushed at me. "Kai-niichan!"

As her short frame impacted onto mine, my mind started to slowly reassess the situation and.. WTF!?

I blinked as I picked her in my arms, the girl's eyes a little red and puffy but it seemed like she had cried much long ago and that she was recovering from it. "H-How are you, Emi-chan?"

She smiled. "Rei-niichan is cool! You should see him do that thing with his stitches-" "Juuzou, I hope you didn't show her _that_."

The cheeky grin in his face meant he had shown _that_ to her and that he felt proud about it. That little moron- "Oh, and show him the plasters!"

Plasters?

By rolling one of her sleeves, Emi showed that there were... _multiple plasters with happy animal faces spread around her arm._

This was an odd scene to stare at as it both confirmed that she had been abused by her deceased mother but also that Juuzou had noticed and taken care of that.

"Those are... cute." I commented quietly, causing the girl to giggle again at my reaction.

"Thank you, Kai-niichan." Her face moved and I felt her kiss my cheek, confusing me by no little mean. "Rei-niichan said that I had to do.. that?"

I slowly turned towards Juuzou, the friend staring away and whistling in faux innocence. "Is that so?"

She nodded and snuggled closer to my chest as a little smile played in my features. "Then that means Juuzou will have to give half of one of his pizzas to this adorable child here."

**That** catched the red-eyed young man, causing him to twist and march towards me, only to be greeted with the pleading look from the chibi in my arms.

It was oddly satisfying seeing Juuzou defeated by the very means he had mastered during his time in the Academy to boss me around. "Fine..."

* * *

Someone like Marude Itsuki had some morals when approaching idiotic individuals.

It was in his vein to usually prey upon his target once he was sure to be able to engage in a private discussion with him/her.

When he finished ranting to the snotty receptionist about the peculiar case that was solved by one of the rookie of the Investigators, he started to slowly walk towards the elevator and waiting for the floor he was supposed to get onto.

Two minutes later and he was knocking at the door of the man that was currently leading the CCG.

Tsuneyoshi Washuu had been a very powerful investigator in his prime, leading the organisation through the hardships of two Ghoul organisations threatening the safety of the city.

Now he was old and most of his duties as director of the CCG had been taken over by his son, Yoshitoki.

Yoshitoki.. he was a good man, an exceptional investigator and a decent friend but.. he lacked the charisma and the mind of the man that was his predecessor and it was no secret many are now hoping for the successor to retire early and for Matsuri, his son, to take over in few years from now.

The senior investigator opened the door and was already mouthing the first lines of his tirade when his eyes fell right onto the individual his rant was going to be about.

Arima stared quietly as he entered fully the room, confused by this interruption but not as much as the director. "Senior Investigator Marude, I hope this is important. I was having a talk with Arima-san about-" "Sir, this is about Arima-san actually."

The old man frowned at this. "Is that so? Then please continue."

"Today finished Ryouga Kaizo's first case and.. the aftermath wasn't as pleasant as many had hoped."

"Some blood need to be shed when fighting Ghouls, if the boy cannot-" "He didn't face a Ghoul, Tsuneyoshi-dono, it was a human woman."

The Washuu blinked at this, confused by the situation. "A human woman? Why would he had to fight someone we strive to protect?"

"She was a cannibal, sir. She had jumped at him and as she tried to kill him, Kaizo landed a killing blow with Yukimaru."

The room fell in silence and Marude hoped that the situation was sinking on Arima's and the director's mind.

Then the elder spoke. "Is he fine? Has he shown any signs that he might require a psycologist?"

"He has taken it well, sir.. but I think those are the moments that might root the most in his mind. He should need an emotional help from _his mentor, not a stranger_."

The jab seemed to have no particular effects on the white-haired reaper and yet the man stood up. "Then I will make sure he is-" "Arima-san, be quiet and sit down."

The glass-wearing investigator stared in shock at the director but complied to the orders.

"Ryouga Kaizo.. Marude, you shall bring me earnestly his files and please contact him that I wish for a private chat with the youth tomorrow.. I think during post-lunch tea time will be fine."

The senior investigator nodded slowly at the orders and felt as if he had ended up making things much worse than he had thought of accomplishing.

Meanwhile the dark-haired man struggled to leave the room without showing his confusion, Arima sat on his seat with a blank look, his mind going through numerous thought processes most of those about the prodigy he was indeed neglecting.

He turned to stare at his father and the man smiled. "Tell me, Kishou.. who is this Ryouga Kaizo?"

* * *

**AN**

**Marude, Marude, why are you so hellbent in making things difficult for others?**

**P.S. The price of Reviews has reached a new time low... THEY ARE FREE NOW! xD**


	7. Interlude 1: E Pluribus Unum

**DISCLAIMER**

**The following is a fan-based**

**FICTION**

**Tokyo Ghoul, Tokyo Ghoul Root A and Tokyo Ghoul:re and other products related to the TG Series are all owned by Sui Ishida, Shin Towada and Shueisha.**

**Please support the official release.**

* * *

**Interlude 1****: E Pluribus Unum  
**

* * *

That morning I was certainly nervous as I paced through the halls of the higher floors of the Main HQ.

A formal message calling for a summon coming from the director was enough to make my mind panic _why_ this was all happening.

I was quite thankful that Juuzou was given a free day after completing his own case, thus delaying the issue regarding whom was supposed to watch over Emi-chan.

Few rules were drawn before I left the flat, adding up to the ones I had set long ago with Juuzou.

It was interesting how the little girl had seemed much more determined to stick up to those compared to the whiny moment the white-haired teen had...

I found finally my way to the front door leading to the director's office and, sighing calmly, I knocked twice as softly as I could.

"_Come in_."

I pushed the door open and noticed that Tsuneyoshi Washuu, the revered old CCG director, wasn't the only one in the room.

To my surprise and _dread_, there was one of the renowned investigators in the organisation sitting right across the elder.

Iwao Kuroiwa was the 'Rock' of the CCG. A bulky man that could easily make one double-think facing someone of his frame.

"Ryouga-san, thank you for joining us. Please take a seat."

I nodded at the greeting and nodded again towards the older man. Kuroiwa returned it as I sat on the remaining free seat.

"I had been.. urged by a man I trust within our ranks to look in your situation." A shiver went down my spine at the surprisingly composed and regal tone of the elder, an outstanding feat for someone his age. "It is interesting how your results have kept a solid 80/110 score _after_ your former classmate, Juuzou Suzuya, befriended you."

"I..I just stopped giving too much effort to the study and give priorities to other non-study subjects."

Tsuneyoshi raised an eyebrow at my excuse and I felt myself quite reduce under that calculative look. "Indeed?"

It wasn't a question, nor a probe for what I could understand. He.. knew something I didn't?

"The last test, the one you failed, did you knew that it was an official standardised exam, correct?" I nodded at the curious query but kept quiet and opted to also keep my confusion in check. "But I am quite sure you _don't know_ that this is actually the very written exam we offer to those who wish to become **Special Class Investigators**."

"What?" My surprise was silent as Kuroiwa expressed his shock regarding this detail. "Why did an Academy Student have to deal with this difficult test?"

"A _rude_ individual that has been dismissed after further investigation by the principal but.." The attention was once more back onto me as the director returned to stare at my eyes. "I was quite confused when said individual stated that the test wasn't.. _meant for you in particular, Ryouga-san_."

I gulped nervously, realising where this was all going to end into. My little switch trick had been seen and... it was time to show my cards and come clean somehow.

"Sir, I couldn't let-" "I find the matter insignificant to the reason behind today's meeting. Still.. your loyalty is duly noted in future situations."

"I think that I should deliver the news, Tsuneyoshi-dono." The Special Class Investigator stated calmly while glancing at me. News? What news?

"It has reached Tsuneyoshi-dono's ears that you are missing a mentor because Arima-san is busy with his duties with Squad 0. We have come to the conclusion that it's best for you to have a temporary mentor to led you while Arima is away."

I blinked at those words, understanding the logic behind them as.. working under multiple senior leaders might compromise my current capacity to try and build a cohesive tactic for myself and possible teammates.

"That is why I accepted the proposition." My eyes stared at the smiling Kuroiwa in surprise.

Wasn't.. wasn't he like going to retire in few years? I could remember people stating that the man had long dismissed the idea of mentoring other individuals other than Ui Koori ended his partnership with him after his promotion to Associate Special Investigator.

"Sir, I don't mean any disrespect but.. weren't you vocal in not going to have any apprentice?"

The man looked surprised but his smile didn't vanish nor reduce at the question.

"I suppose I had said something along those lines. But I am also able to change any past promises, at least of those of this kind."

That... was curious, to say the last.

* * *

"I can see how that upgrade could work." Kuroiwa nodded as I explained to him about my plans regarding Yukimaru.

He had told me how he had worked on improving some Quinques with some Investigators that shared the growing idea of bettering what we already had in our arsenals.

Soon the sound of clashing and grunts of pain started to slowly reach our ears and I blinked mid-sentence in confusion. "We are.. near the training centre?"

"Indeed." The man replied calmly. "I want to know about your capacities first-hand and I know my former apprentice is currently sparring this time of the day."

...Iwao Kuroiwa wanted _me_ to face Ui Koori?

A model investigator to many that started from the beginning, the feminine-looking young man is a legendary figure in the CCG.

Some had compared his growth much to how Arima himself was at his age.

Cordial to his colleagues, Koori was a fierce fighter and incredibly renowned for the high number of cases concluded under his leadership.

We finally reached the large room that was dedicated to workouts, gym exercise and sparring and I could already see the origin of the incredibly loud noises as I saw Koori facing...

_Wait, is that Takizawa?_

It was quite surprising seeing the brown-haired young man that had been my classmate. He still had the same scaredy expression he had during training sessions at the Academy... seems like things never change after all.

"Kuroiwa-san, we weren't expecting you today."

A formal dressed man stepped towards us with a restrained smile. Houji Kousuke.

"It's good to see you too, Kousuke. Seems like your junior partner is having fun."

I had to bit down a chuckle as I saw the aforementioned man released another panicked yelp as he barely dodged a strike from his opponent's wooden spear.

"He is a work-in-progress and.." He seemed to finally notice me as he frowned at me. "A new student, Kuroiwa-san?"

"A temporary one." A sigh left the older man's mouth. "He is one of Arima's."

"Interesting." He nodded my way and I returned it with a shake of my head.

"Iwaccho, it's been ages." I recognised the man walking behind Houji as Shinohara Yukinori, the investigator that was mentoring Juuzou. "And you brought.. Ryouga Kaizo, correct?"

I blinked in surprise at being recognised. "Y-Yes?"

"Juuzou couldn't help but cite you once in a while during our cases." And that was.. concerning for some reason.

"Did he do something.. _extreme_, Shinohara-san?" He smiled but I could see some lying ready to be delivered.

"Just some_ misunderstanding_ regarding how to deal with Ghouls. He is quite.. _creative_."

Goddangit Juuzou. At least I hope the mutilation had been at acceptable levels...

"He is like that. If he starts to get troublesome, just remind him about Rule 12."

"Rule 12?" At his confusion I sighed tiredly.

"I have created 35 rules for Juuzou to respect without hesitation. Rule 12 is about 'There is time to be childish but there is time to be serious' and, by reminding him that, he should fuss less than he would without citing the rule."

"Understood and thank you for this warning." The man returned to his old friend. "So what led you here today, Iwaccho?"

"I had plans to see how Ryouga-san do in a fighting situation. I wanted to test him with Koori but.. I think he will be too much strained even through his opponent is quite new in this context."

The fellow investigator nodded as Houji merely stared blankly at the spar, trying to understand how he should work with who had fallen upon him.

"I could replace Koori-san if it is truly important." His smile widened and I felt a distinct sensation of dread starting to slowly rise within me. "I want to see myself how Kaizo-san work under pressure."

I... I just got frigged.

Nevertheless the spar had been quite an interesting eye-opener... especially about how easily a hit from a wooden axe can get bruises on its opponent.

Let's just say that beyond the pity from my temporary mentor I had also got a new training regime to bolster my current capacity to fight.

* * *

**AN**

**IWA! Also Tsuneyoshi is intrigued by Kaizo.. but why? Will be explained but... slowly and steadily thorough various chapters.. **

**Next is: Case 2 - Dance of Shadows**


	8. Case 2 - Dance of Shadows (1)

**DISCLAIMER**

**The following is a fan-based**

**FICTION**

**Tokyo Ghoul, Tokyo Ghoul Root A and Tokyo Ghoul:re and other products related to the TG Series are all owned by Sui Ishida, Shin Towada and Shueisha.**

**Please support the official release.**

* * *

**Case 2****: Dance of Shadows (1)**

* * *

_Two weeks later..._

"Still thank you for your availability, Urai-san."

The kind old woman had been their neighbor for years now and it was a blessing that she had noticed our situation and asked about the newest individual in the appartment.

Few words regarding Emi's name and (faked) predicament led to a good arrangement that didn't dent too much on my income.

The first few days had been incredibly dreadful as I had to pray in my mind that the little girl kept her promise to not show her ghoulish side.

Two weeks had passed and the woman had become 'Urai-baachan' to the sweet girl and Juuzou had seemingly relaxed around the former stranger.

Having solved the babysitting issue, I focused fully on the strong regime Kuroiwa had given to me to accomplish and.. I could see quickly some improvements over my performances.

In the mean time I would also go with the Special Class Investigator to solve minor cases that would mostly be removing the minor threats in the Wards, never going far too much deep in the rabbit hole that was the Ghoul hierarchies.

In those moments I had the chance to learn more how to deal with some peculiar Ghouls, the experienced mentor being crucial in giving information from his past cases.

Surprisingly enough this line of work turned quite easy to grow accustomed to and I felt I was truly understand the mechanics behind it all.

Soon I was truly capable of deducing patterns from clues left by the suspects and.. I found myself contemplating about my distant future.

Will I be able to reach the high post I was striving to obtain? Maybe but.. I didn't thought much about it as I feared I would jinx my chances at it.

It was early in the morning when I was passed by a tired Marude the newest case's dossier and I opened it up and.. I was surprised.

* * *

**Case 154864**  
**Team**_**: **_  
_**\- **_**Special Class Investigator **_**Kuroiwa Iwao **_**(Leader)**  
_**-**_** Investigator Class 3**_** Ryouga Kaizo **_**(Subordinate)**

**Setting**_**: 20th Ward**_  
**Description**_**: TPD has forwarded suspicions of an aggressive Ghoul group acting near the instances of the Kiyomi High School sited in the 20th Ward. Caution is advised as the number of disappearings that had urged the intervention is between 10 to 20 victims in the last week.**_

* * *

"A Highschool?" I mused quietly as I stared at Kuroiwa. "Wouldn't that be a big no-no for Ghouls?"

The man merely sighed as he took his coat. "There had been situations where Ghouls were either desperate or cocky enough to try for their _danger zones_. Hopefully we will find them quickly and eliminate this monsters."

I nodded and we both moved out of the meeting room to reach the laboratories to pick up our Quinques.

As we stepped inside the room we were greeted by the now familiar Chigyou. "Kuroiwa-san and Kaizo, good to see you both healthy."

"Kouitsu/Chigyou-san." We both returned the greeting and the scientist's smile widened.

"I suppose you are here to take.. Tsunagi." The senior investigator nodded at the supposition and took the case off from the researcher's hand as the latter turned towards me.

"We finally managed to complete the rework, Kaizo." He picked the container that once had Yukimaru and.. I was mesmerised at the sight of the new blade.

Its theme had seemingly inverted, its blade red with some white spot on it. "This is **Akaimaru 1**. We decided to numerate the variants that still have to be released."

Those last bit took me by surprise. "Variants?"

"It's not unusual for researchers to fully study how many variants a new Quinque can be developed into. It seems that your idea will have more results that you have planned."

"That is correct, Kuroiwa-san. Several higher-ups have shown interest in the project and had been quite elated when the budget proposed for it was approved."

I... I didn't know what to say. It was incredibly rare for something like this to take such a positive note as the only investigator that could push for this kind of situations was Mado Kureo.

The Quinque Expert was renowned in his skills and was highly-valued by the laboratories as a the perfect practical expert in Tokyo.

"Sadly nothing can be truly done to update Douhi. Most of the interest in the Ukaku Quinques is centered around the **Hollow** project."

I had heard about that particular project, a Quinque that shared the same firepower as Douhi but attached to the user's free arm, removing the issue regarding the aim. In my opinion the idea was... not preferable.

Sure, Hollow will avoid issues regarding dealing with two Quinques but.. will possibly hinder the user that wants to use the long-range Quinque as a shield from an unexpected attack from the side. The greatest weakness that Hollow suffered was how frail it was against strong meele strikes.

"I suppose I will have to wait for some improvement.." Kouitsu nodded sadly at my words.

"If only people could grasp how _dull_ that design is."

Finishing the brief chat, Kuroiwa led the way to the garage and to one of the CCG's cars assigned to us.

"Do you think... we should contact to have some enforcers during the nightshift?"

The man didn't move at my words but soon replied calmly. "We might need some manpower if we don't find the culprits early on.. We will wait the end of the day before truly asking for backup."

I nodded, understanding the compromising stance the mentor was suggesting. Sure enough we had yet to assest the extent of the case on a personal basis but.. I had this weird sensation that we weren't going to have an easy time with the situation.

* * *

Touka Kirishima sighed in her resting nest she had created from her arms on her desk.

Teachers sure knew how to make every single bit of a lesson quite boring to listen and even demolish whatever efforts students had to keep some attention over the words enounced by the adults.

Such was the tragedy of students, being exposed to such insanely dull scenes thorough their growing years.

Many had adopted her stance but with a slightly more composed style, faking any interest to the math lesson she was forced to listen muffled in her ears.

There was only one individual that incredibly managed to not look murdered by the teacher and that was her friend, Kousaka Yoriko, the blonde sitting right by her right side and with her seat close to the window.

But it wasn't like the extrovert girl was not begging for the end of this torture because _she was actually listening_. No, she was completely ignoring the painful noises sprouted about numbers and complex formulas by merely looking outside, staring at the insignificant scenes that sounded much more _appealing_ than what the young Kirishima was facing.

Yet that monotony was broken by the unexpected sound of three knocks coming from the only door close to the teacher's desk.

The woman stopped amidst her speech to stare in half-surprise at the entrance before a curious look of realisation flashed on her face. "You may enter."

No matter how Touka was feeling down that moment, dealing with boring lessons after a night spent helping around at Anteiku, the moment she saw the young man entering the classroom... she felt conflicted.

It wasn't difficult to realise that the individual was affiliated to the CCG, his grey trenchcoat and the two cases with familiar scents were a dead giveaway for which work he did but... it was oddly distracting staring at the unblemished, youthful face that was the Dove's one.

Maybe her cheeks turned a little darker shade of pink and _hopefully_ that small unvoluntary reaction hadn't been catched from her friend- A giggle from her side suggested otherwise and the female Ghoul stared elsewhere and ignoring as usual the blonde's antics.

"As of today there had been tragic disappearances around the school and the principal has accepted to let the CCG work to solve this situation as quickly as possible." The teacher stated calmly while gesturing to the individual that has just entered.

The dark-haired man coughed before finally speaking and.. she blinked.

"I am Ryouga Kaizo, Investigator Class 3, and in those days me and my colleague and senior partner, Special Class Investigator Kuroiwa Iwao, will work to find the aggressors that are attacking around the area of this establishment." He paused for a moment before continuing with his oddly composed tone. "It is possible that the ones behind this horrible situation could be students or teachers, so it is advised to be escorted to your homes by someone trustworthy and before late hours. This is why for the time being club's hours are temporaly suspended under further notice."

If Touka had not enjoyed an alibi for her little secret, she would have worried no little about this unexpected development but.. it seems that Yoriko's cooking had finally prevented quite an annoying predicament.

Yet the girl's hopes of having to deal the least with the quite attractive investigator were quite destroyed when she gave a quick glance into Yoriko's way and.. got a dreadfully familiar glint out of her eyes.

Said fear was manifested by her hands going above her head and drawing the dove's attention. "Yes?"

"What about people that have no one to accompany them?"

_Oh no... Please don't you dare-_

"Well, Kuroiwa-san suggested that I could escort those who have no one to accompany them if there was the necessity."

The Kirishima felt _her_ staring at her and she knew what was going on as soon as the human girl spoke once more.

"My friend, Touka, usually has to return home alone. Maybe you could.. plan something out."

It was painfully easy to recognise her not-so-subtle tone by the end of the request and Touka wanted_ to die as several of her classmates directed their stares at her_.

"I... suppose that I could accompany her back at home." She resisted from cringing at the young man's attempt to appear clueless on the matter- "But I guess that she would also need.. _her friend_ to not be too much embarassed."

... "Eh?" The female Ghoul blinked at her friend, now gawking at the proposal and her cheeks hinting at some unplanned embarassment as they turned a distinct red under her stare.

"You are a good friend for trying to avoid Touka-san to not get hurt.. but I guess it would be less awkward for her if she was helped around by a familiar face."

It was in that brief moment of shock coming from Yoriko that Touka felt a little thankful smile appear in her visage as she met the understanding look from the man.

Maybe he wasn't as heartless as the others...

* * *

**Mini-Snippet (The aftermath of the previous scene):**

Yoriko is Y and Touka is T.

Y: Touka-chan, you better marry Ryouga-senpai!

T: *Blushes* W-What are you talking about, you idiot?!

Y: *Serious expression* If you don't... I don't think I can restrain myself from trying to conquer him for me and me only!

T: ...

* * *

**AN**

**Maybe I should serious consider altering some stuff... I mean **_**some crucial points are going to persist but..**_** I don't want some people to die in this story and... did anyone know that the Anime 'killed' Kuroiwa? In the Manga he recovers from the wounds and becomes part of the TSC but... they left him to die in the Anime, WTF?!**

**P.S. Do I seriously scare people enough to have them forget to leave a feedback to poor, ol' Bukharin? (JK, be free to review or not!)**


	9. Case 2 - Dance of Shadows (2)

**DISCLAIMER**

**The following is a fan-based**

**FICTION**

**Tokyo Ghoul, Tokyo Ghoul Root A and Tokyo Ghoul:re and other products related to the TG Series are all owned by Sui Ishida, Shin Towada and Shueisha.**

**Please support the official release.**

* * *

**Case 2****: Dance of Shadows (2)**

* * *

Yoriko Kousaka, aspirant chef, was feeling quite interested with her current predicament.

A quiet hum left her mouth as she looked around the mostly empty entrance of the school, trying to avoid looking too much at the young investigator that was supposed to escort them.

It had been quite the surprise when none of her classmates, even other students, had wanted to be accompanied by the Ryouga-san.

Certainly she was quite dreading the fact Touka had gone to the nearby toilet, excusing herself with one of her sick bouts, leaving the blonde alone with the brunet.

_I swear, Touka, I will pester you if you don' come back here so- _"Something's wrong?"

Yoriko paled a little and turned to the young man, his face twisted in a concerned frown.

"W-What?" It was then that she realised that she had unvoluntarly expressed her inner struggle via strange looks.

"I-I mean, yeah, I was thinking about Touka-chan and her silly moments, hehe."

He stared a little longer, maybe trying to see if it was another reason about it, then he nodded and looked away.

It was in that moment that Yoriko actually saw something peculiar about the man.

He had two cases. Her father had told her about meeting some investigators and usually those had just one Quinque to use.

"W-Why two?"

"Huh?" Confusion appeared momentarely, then he realised she was talking about the Quinques.

"Oh, I.. I am quite proficient with those two." He patted one of the closed cases fondly. "I guess it's just luck I can use them both at the same time."

The schoolgirl nodded, her mind processing this new information for any future encounter. "So.. do you live nearby?"

He blinked and the blonde's cheeks reddened as she realised she might have pushed too far with her questions. "I-I didn't mean to-"

"No, no. I understand." He sounded quite appeasing as he scratched his chin. "I suppose it's natural for you to be curious about investigators in general."

"You don't mind?" _When did my voice get this lite?_

"Nope." His smile widened a little bit, putting the girl at ease in that unnerving predicament.

"Have- Have you already hunted Ghouls?" He nodded and the blonde slowly accepted to be coaxed back in her usual self.

"I killed few low-ranked ones. Pesky scum lurking in the alleys of the 22th Ward."

"But how was it?" Yoriko and Ryouga turned to see Touka blinking at the latter, a weird glint in her visible eye.

"You mean if I felt something out of what I was doing?" The blonde frowned, surprised her usually quiet friend would ask about this subject. "I think... no. I didn't feel much from it."

The Kirishima seemed surprised at the reply. "N-Nothing? But isn't this your job to-" "It is."

She closed her mouth as Kaizo sighed quietly. "It is my job but doesn't mean I will take pleasure in truly killing, even with Ghouls."

"Why?" Yoriko admonished herself when her mouth acted against her best judgement and relayed one of her pressing thoughts over this response.

"In the very first day at the Academy, one of the sentences that have stuck around and I will always remember is.. _'This is a war. Not just a boxing fight, nor a hunting match. We are soldiers that protects humanity just as some ghouls react to our defense._"

"And that... means?" Touka seemed to be quite confused and her friend could understand her frustration, the human girl too trying to make sense out of those words.

"A soldier is a guardian, someone that should never be happy of taking lives as his duty is to protect. If he forgets his main mission, he is no more better than the ones he is protecting people from."

"You mean that... humans can _turn into _Ghouls. Not physically but.. psychologically?"

The young man nodded at the blue-haired girl's assessment. "Yes. Yet the results of such transformation is something _far worse_ than any ghoul, because the human _shouldn't have a reason_ to take pleasure in maiming and killing ghouls."

Touka nodded and Yoriko hummed, drawing Kaizo's attention. "I-I think we should go?"

The investigator blinked and noticed that it was getting dark. "Yes.. I hope you both got everything before leaving." At their shared nod, the young man sighed and took the lead of the trio.

* * *

Ayato had always disliked the night.

The cold wind, the darkness covering every inch of his body and the fact everyone else turned into faceless shadows when there wasn't any light.

And yet the member of Aogiri was far from terrified with what his little group had planned.

He had learnt much from how the patrols from the _cowards _at Anteiku worked and he had created a small plan that revolved around a blank spot in the Ward.

The area was in the proximity of a highschool and that made it an important part to install a feeding ground for his pack.

It's been two weeks and no one had come around to resolve the little chaos the Kirishima was happily creating around this little free-zone.

"Ayato-sama... that girl looks just like you."

Every possible thoughts focused on this little whisper from one of his subordinates looking out for any new prey.

He took the bynoculars out of the younger boy's hands and looked through them to see... _her_.

A low growl started to form in his throat as he eyed rabidly at the other members of his group. "Mask up. We got some food!"

It was time to settle the score... _finally!_

He leaped up, his Ukaku sparking to life and glowing fiercely as it was ready to kill the _liar_ once for all, his group following him closely with their own Kagune formed and eager to attack.

It was just a moment.

At first he was smiling under his black rabbit's mask, excitement overriding whatever common sense he had attained after months of experiences on the field.

Then his eyes were wide open, jaws dropping as a modest chunk of his left _wing_ was cut off cleanly from a glowing red blade.

He blinked as he turned to eye the responsible and.. Ayato paled.

A dove with two Quinques. Generally that meant that this individual was easily a S-rank but.. he looked far too young to be high-ranked.

His musing died as he eyed the second quinque aimed at him, a fiery blast forming inside of it as his mind muttered just a word at the familiar intense heat.

_Tatara?_

His remaining Ukaku enclosed protectively but while most of the damage was absorbed painfully by his Kagune, the subsequent recoil pushed him few metres away.

As he slammed on the floor with his Ukaku _burning_ on his back, Ayato stared at the massacre happening in front of him.

He had seen doves moving this quickly but... the way this one in particularly dealt with his group was utterly flawless.

The man fluidly moved through the attemps of the multiple Kagunes, his blade burning fiercely as he cut into every single member trying to take revenge for him.

They were all putting their best to at least land an injury on the monster they were dealing with but the human would merely move out of the way and mercilessly strike down through any visible opening in their offensive.

It was a slaughter, one Ayato hadn't planned to be witnessing and certainly not one he had planned to be part of... especially as part of the dying cattle.

None came out alive despite their undying determination and, as the last one fell to its knees and then collapsed on the floor, the investigator turned to walk towards him.

It was a hellish figure, one that reminded him of someone he had heard about...

It was the reaper... but he was donning his usual black but he also reminded him of the terrifying supervisor back at their HQ.

_T-Those eyes.._

He felt a chill go down his spine and every single attempt from his soul to call upon a revenge against the fiend was obliterated by his mere stare.

Instincts ruling out his bruised pride from his mind, the wounded Ghoul started to run away, hot tears flowing from his eyes as he escaped death itself.

_He had failed_.

* * *

"That was a close one."

Truly, who would have seen a bunch of Aogiri Tree thugs attacking so desperately?

As my quinques returned inside their cases, I turned to see the two girls' reaction, hoping I hadnt' scarred them for life-

...

I was quite _surprised_ to see that Yoriko was the only one to pale at the burning remains of the Ghouls I had just disposed of.

Touka appeared to be neutral on the situation, yet her eyes were trailing over the results of my little skirmish.

"Everything's alright?"

The blonde opened her mouth, possibly to state her discomfort, but then closed it up as she couldn't think of proper words to express her distress.

"We will be fine." The Kirishima's voice was soft but calm, her eyes turning to her friend. "She is quite squeamish in gorey scenes."

At this the extrovert girl pouted, her cheeks regaining a little bit of color. "I-It's not my fault movies make it so- so realisting and like _this!_"

"I suppose you wouldn't want to walk back home now. Maybe once we reach Touka-san's home you could call your parents and-" "Y-yeah!"

The blonde blushed now at this outburst. "I-I mean, I might not be in the right _mindset_ to walk back home at this late hour..."

I nodded as I could understand how unnerving the sight had to have been.

We finally arrived to the place the Kirishima lived and- "A coffee shop?"

It was quite unique to see someone living in the same building where a cafe was.

"I work here part-time too. The owner was a friend of my father before he passed away.."

My mouth opened a little as I realised I might have hit a sore spot with that subject.

"Don't be sorry." She stated dully. "I suppose that you are an... orphan too."

I nodded as she sighed while helping her friend towards the entrance, the shop surprisingly still open. "I hope you all have a good night then."

She paused for a moment, the blonde peeking over her shoulder while Touka merely turned her head on the side. "Good night, I suppose."

With a last nod, I proceeded to walk back towards the highschool, ready to deliver a report to Kuroiwa.

Good news: the group responsible with the last deaths in this ward had been dealt with.

Bad news: the now deceased Ghouls were part of Aogiri Tree, their red cloaks and unique masks showing their allegiance to the group.

Why was Aogiri moving there of all places? The 20th Ward didn't have anything that could have truly changed their cornered state..

* * *

**AN**

**This chapter coincide with Tokyo Ghoul's first chapter. While Kaizo is making his way back to Kuroiwa, Kaneki Ken is one of the victims of the steel beams incident.**

**Canon is offically now!**

**Also just gave Ayato one more reason to be resentful with his sister and... be utterly scared of Kaizo.**

**Review Q&A!**

**PaperWorld****: (P.S. I kind of skipped the notifications of the review and forgot to address the review last chapter but... I will now! xD) Dunno! I think it's possible many are skipping the story because not many had used this idea and one could suspect I am trying to copy Haise part from :re... but this isn't the case! Also thank you and hopefully I will be able to create a decent plot about Arima but.. it will be unique! :)  
**


	10. Case 2 - Dance of Shadows (END)

**DISCLAIMER**

**The following is a fan-based**

**FICTION**

**Tokyo Ghoul, Tokyo Ghoul Root A and Tokyo Ghoul:re and other products related to the TG Series are all owned by Sui Ishida, Shin Towada and Shueisha.**

**Please support the official release.**

* * *

**Case 2****: Dance of Shadows (END)**

* * *

"This is truly a hassle, Ryouga! You are truly turning out in a migraine-inducer.."

I sighed as Marude massaged his temples.

Kuroiwa had decided to report the following day, praising the fact the cause of the murderers had been eliminated permanently.

The senior investigator's office was quite humble compared to the one I had previously visited. No bookshelves, some picture frames set on the walls showing other investigators and few of those actually having a younger Kuroiwa close to the man.

The desk was a sturdy, grey one and it was easy to understand the choice was one to deal with the owner's... frequent outbursts.

"But seriously, Aogiri hovering on the 20th? This just throws everything we hoped under a bus!"

"It isn't that bad, Marude. Kaizo-san managed to remove the menace from the ward-" "I know and appreciate that,kid." He nodded my direction with a sigh. "I swear I do, but the mere idea that they are branching onto the 20th? This is going to make some higher-ups flip their tables."

"If I may, Marude-san." The man gestured me to continue. "I hardly think this was a planned attack. From their skills I think they weren't even official members."

"Aogiri wannabes? Interesting and weird but... it might be possible. It would be the first time we have to deal with some delusional scum that was rejected by the terrorists for a reason or another."

Then the man blinked, remembering something he had forgotten to detail.

"Also, good work with the whole push for Yukimaru. I think the docs have explained you that we are getting some good results from the experimentations and.. I heard you wanted to optimize Douhi too?" I merely nodded and the man whistled.

"Turning that gun in something even more deadly? That sounds interesting.. I will see if I can get something out but-" He held a finger up as to hold my surprise and glee. "I cannot promise you anything quick. Maybe in few months."

I nodded slowly, letting my satisfaction at this development not appear in the visage.

"Also Tsuneyoshi-dono has requested your presence today. Something about an idea of his and... he is old."

That was... quite the curious way to downplay the director's intriguing ideas.

I gave one nod to Marude and Kuroiwa, the mentor patting my arm before focusing to chat with his old friend.

The way to reach the elder's office was short from the brash investigator and soon I was knocking once more at that unfamiliar door.

"Enter."

I opened the door and walked inside, seeing quite the sight in front of me.

A tatami had been place in the mid of the room, the desk moved farther to give space to it and.. the director was there.

Blank and emotionless eyes acknowledged my presence and I bowed slightly only to stop as I noticed the man was holding a practice shinhai, made of light-colored wood.

"T-Tsuneyoshi-dono?"

The old director blinked. "Ryouga-kun, how good are you with Kendo?"

I grimaced as I could see where this was going to end and I obviously stated.. a little issue.

"Sir, with all due respect, I am not a Kendo practicio-" A shinai was thrown in my direction and I had barely enough time to grasp it mid-air and direct it to intercept the thrust from the elder.

The two swords came in contact, the attacking one deviated to merely graze my cheek and forcing me to roll towards the tatami.

My free hand touched the now wet cheek and I blinked as I found blood on my fingertips.

"Show me what you can do for the CCG, Ryouga-kun." I narrowed my eyes as Tsuneyoshi rushed towards me, his stance easy to recognise and I fell onto mine, a version created out of personal training and barely few teaching from the swordsmanship art.

Initially my body gracefully dodged the precise strikes but my own attacks barely reached the old man, his defence way tighter than I had expected.

I noticed that something was wrong when I felt the cloth of my jacket tear at a punitive thrust, eyes wide open as I started to panic and lose focus on my stance.

"An impressive attempt, Ryouga-kun, but using only your reflexes as a defence is pathetic. You are facing an experienced fighter and you decided to use such a simple stance?" The man sighed as his wood shinai slashed once more, this time on my knee. "Maybe you thought age would matter there? Foolish and rash, what a disgusting mix of failing traits."

I gritted my teeth and decided that I needed to change tactics against someone this monster of a swordsman.

My body flexed to fit a more balanced form, focusing on reacting on the incoming attacks but having barely enough time for my reflexes to react to the continous, quick strikes.

I yelped once more as this last hit landed right on my thigh and forced me back on a knee.

"You are missing the point, Ryouga. Don't be this disappointing!"

With a grunt I got up and readied my own shinai, trying to ignore the growing pain and thinking how to avoid getting beaten too much.

It was then that I had a curious idea, one that would possibly leave me quite bruised if it failed.

My hold over the shinai softened, my eyelids half-closed as the man frowned before returning to attack and... I _moved_.

I could feel the cold fury of his strikes barely approaching me, failing to truly met my body as I calmly started to dodge every single strikes from Tsuneyoshi.

This lasted for a full minute before I truly focused on my first stance.

It was surprise that appeared on the director's face as I started to once more avoid his thrusts and slashes and returned to poke at his own defence.

That moment of quietness had given me an idea of the man's fighting style, of his timing and precision.

Now I could truly step around the elder's merciless offensive capabilities!

Sadly my happiness evaporated the moment I felt the shinai flying out of my hands and wood slapping on my wounded cheek, forcing me to fall on the floor.

"An impressive display of quick-thinking it was, you are still far from truly being able to hit me, Kaizo-kun."

I blinked at the different style of addressing, my legs wobbling as I tried to get up from the floor-

I turned to the front door and I saw a familiar, white-haired investigator was standing there, looking at the scene with... surprise?

There was some emotion attached to his wide-eyed face but... I couldn't truly say if this was surprise or a mere reaction to the weird situation.

"Arima. I suppose you and your team have finished your tasks."

The White Reaper nodded as I stared alternately to him and the director.

"Good. You can report later as I finish discussing with Kaizo-kun." The elder nodded to him, his voice _changing_ to an ominous tone. "We will **talk** thoroughly. Of that I can assure you."

Arima nodded and merely spared a glance my direction before closing the door.

For some reason that mere dull interaction felt... bitter to me.

"Excellent capacity to adapt and an evolving fighting stance." The man nodded, then he seemed to notice the dreadful state of my clothes. "I will see to have you compensated for the damage to your clothes. Can't have a dutiful investigator lacking a proper uniform."

I merely blinked but let a nod out of my innerly confused state.

This is truly a weird day.

* * *

Making sure that Ayato was punished for his rash attitude? Tatara was going to enjoy punishing the foolish youth for having lost Aogiri the recruits under his care.

He will have to work harder if he wished to recover his previous position as he had been forced to become once more a grunt under the Bin Brothers.

Dealing with Jason's thirst of revenge for the seemingly missing Binge-Eater? his mind was already developing a migraine at the mere idea he had to reign in the aimless Ghoul and his own group.

Finally the annoying paperwork- "Tata-chan!~"

The tall Ghoul swore silently as the greatest pest of them all approached him in his dark corner. "What do you need, Eto-san?"

The petite, mummy-like girl giggled as her ears picked his annoyance through his blank tone. "Did I got you in a busy moment? If you wish I can poke at you later... but also no, I want to mess with you.~"

"What do you _need_?" He repeated, this time his voice stressing the fact he had no time to deal with the Owl's cheerful mask.

"No need to be rude, Tata-chan." She pouted at him before scoffing. "It isn't like you didn't annoy me with what had happened with Ayato-kun."

Tatara paused for a moment, frowning at the curious words. "You were fine with the punishment."

"I was and still am." She sighed with a bored note on her lips. "But you failed to see a crucial part of him. When he had returned."

"He returned alone and with his Kagune damaged-" "Burned. His Kagune was damaged by fire."

..."What?"

"You see, I have to thank Kishou for his continous spying as he brought up quite the interesting news for us, you in particular. Do you remember the little boy you left alive?"

Red eyes blinked in remembrance. "He shouldn't have been strong enough to-" "Oh, he is! You should have also heard about the whole CCG being interested in this... Ryouga Kaizo! Yes, that is his name."

"Why would they be interested in him?" The chinese Ghoul asked calmly, yet his mind was confused by this development.

The foolish human attacking him head-on... important? That sounded utterly false.

"Technically isn't truly the CCG... nor V, if I have to be honest with you." She swirled around before clapping her hands together. "Oni Tsune is interested in the boy and Kishou said something about... favouring him."

"The director? Why would he go after the boy?" The girl paused in her act that very moment and Tatara realised he had let some curiousity out in his voice.

"You are interested!" She threw her hand over her head. "Yatta! I got Tata-chan's attention!~"

The tall Ghoul groaned inwardly at this but he was thankful Eto continued. "Anyway, Kishou thinks the old timer is possibly having some nostalgic remembrance and he is spoiling the brat in a very indirect way... but he also seems to be grooming him."

Another Oni Tsune? That would be quite dreadful to deal with, Tatara thought with a grim frown.

"But there is more!" The girl exclaimed loudly and annoyingly. "It seems that Tsune-jiji is distrusting Kishou and... he seems eager to poke fun at him. Think that he now wants to stop one of his siblings to join his little squad."

She coughed in her bandaged hand before trying to imitate an old man's voice. "'She needs some experience before joining the team and it will give her the chance to gain some legitimacy' or something along those lines."

"V suspects our infiltration?" At the question Eto finally dropped her act with a groan.

"Possibly. I think they might as well be planning to train an Anti-Arima that will work for them but... Kishou said they were barely interested in Ryo-chan."

"Then we will wait for them to act... there is no need to remove the boy if he is unaware of this situation and his role is still unknown to us.

"Indeed but.." The girl hummed quietly, a creepy and devious smile settling behind her bandages. "Maybe I have an idea... that will help my books too!"

Tatara groaned as the Owl returned back to her cheerful attitude.

What an annoying woman.

* * *

**AN**

**I wonder how the Canon!Tsuneyoshi would react to someone that preferred sword-like Quinques. Maybe poke around to know a little more or maybe just ignore him altogether like he does in canon.**

**Review Q&A!**

**Guest (chapter 9)****: I think you meant 'I like doo doo'. :)**


	11. Interlude 2: Senpai and Kohai

**DISCLAIMER**

**The following is a fan-based**

**FICTION**

**Tokyo Ghoul, Tokyo Ghoul Root A and Tokyo Ghoul:re and other products related to the TG Series are all owned by Sui Ishida, Shin Towada and Shueisha.**

**Please support the official release.**

* * *

**Interlude 2:**** Senpai and Kohai**

* * *

It was... distressing.

She had thought for so long that she was going to be directly integrated in her Oniisan's team, just like her half-siblings.

It was something she had waited for so long, she had bleed and sweated during her intensive training to be ready for... but now? Now _father_ had decided to change the rules right when it was her moment to become part of Arima Squad.

To be fair, Tsuneyoshi's motivations weren't truly unfounded, especially since she felt quite hesitant to say she wanted to do her first actions in the real world under Arima-niisan's glance.

Sure, she would be glad to have the chance to be praised and rewarded by a smile from her oldest brother... but what if she messed up while trying to keep up with the high standards of the team?

Her mind was conflicted through the whole explanation but she agreed to the idea, keeping her protests within herself.

It was a temporary arrangement, she reminded herself, nothing that is going to block her from becoming someone led by her Niisan.

When she first entered the CCG Main HQ in the 1st Ward, Hairu Ihei was surprised by the different world she had just stepped into.

There was the same grey-white theme of colors regarding the aestethics but the sterile smell and silence was replaced by a different scent, one that she could compare to the one coming from her newest formal dress, a gift from her _father_.

It was masculine, if the pants were to be take in account but she didn't shy away from the comfortable and uniformed clothes.

Her feet took her towards the receptionist, a woman with a bored look in her face which graced her with a snort. "Welcome to the CCG's main headquarters, how may I assist you?"

"I-I am supposed to meet with Kuroiwa Iwao for an assignment." The older woman's eyes lightened and she smiled graciously. "Kuroiwa-san? I suppose it's quite early for him to be here now."

"O-Oh?" Detached that she had arrived there too much early for the meeting, her mind had already resigned to the idea of waiting for the man- "But I think I can get you to Kuroiwa-san's apprentice. He should be already there and training."

An apprentice? The pinkette remembered hearing something about a temporary student under the Senior Investigator, an information that was given by Tsuneyoshi with a praising note, something she had barely heard in her childhood and most of it came from her siblings' experiences.

It was rare to hear about any Investigators and to hear that there is someone so young and not from the Half-Humans being praised by the elder Washuu was a sign of power and concern.

"You see that man?" The woman pointed her finger at a particular man sitting quietly in one of the single couches in the waiting area, reading a magazine while smiling at whatever was in there. "That is Shinohara-san, he is someone that knows where the Training section is and he will be more than happy to lead you there."

Hairu opened her mouth to ask more about this solution but the receptionist hushered her towards his direction, leaving the girl, quite the example of a social inept to deal with someone else than the ones she had planned to met today.

Yet there wasn't much to do. It was either disappoint the kind woman by waiting for Kuroiwa-san or steal a glimpse to the partner she is supposed to work with for some time.

It was the treacherous sense of curiousity that overcame her better judgement, urging her to at least try to act determined in certain things. Determination, lacking any form of hesitation, that was what the work of an investigator consisted mostly.

As she approached, the man seemed to notice her presence as he brought his eyes above the paper and onto her, giving her a calm and natural smile. "Yes?"

The pinkette sighed inwardly but returned the smile with a polite bow. "Ihei Hairu, 2nd Class Investigator." She blinked once. "I was told that you could help me to find the training section of the building, Shinohara-san."

The man closed the magazine and nodded, standing up from the couch and gesturing her to follow him. "Sure but may I ask you why you require to visit the training section?"

A small part of her wished to just keep her from answering that very question, finding it meaningless in the long-term process but... she nodded. "You may and it is because I've been assigned to Kuroiwa-san's team."

Shinohara nodded and hummed pensively at the words. "Iwa's team? Then I suppose you will be Kaizo-kun's kohai."

Her mind cleared in that single moment as the very word, even through she had much read about it, felt as much as alien as... curious. "Kohai?"

"Kaizo-kun has been working with Iwa for almost a full month. He is far from being an experienced investigator but he is also not the same rookie from the Academy."

"Indeed?" Her tone was a surprised one, her interest over her newest partner fueling much of her inner workings right now. "I heard a little from Tsuneyoshi-dono-" "Oh, the director is quite interested by Kaizo-kun." He nodded to himself. "Did you know that he invited the young man to a spar?"

Now that was something she had not heard about. The Elder Washuu was weaker than he was in his prime but he was still a stern and formidable fighter.

"It isn't something many knows about but.. some also said that Arima-san had watched the exchange as it happened few days ago."

Niisan? Why would he be there to see a young investigator?

"B-but why would Arima-san see Kaizo-san?" The man frowned for a moment, then he sighed tiredly at her disbelief.

"Let's just say that... Kuroiwa-san isn't the official Senior Partner of Kaizo-san."

The words felt weird, cryptic, something that willed Hairu to ask for more but... they had already arrived to the training section.

The door opened and the Pinkette merely stared at the single ongoing match.

The two young man had picked a bokken and a wooden sword, the former pressing on the other with an acrobatic style, akin to complex gymnastic moves, the latter had a familiar stance, one that she had studied back in the Garden, but was _moving_ in quite the weirdest manner in that position.

While the white-haired youth continued his aggressive series of multiple attacks, the black-haired one was static, barely twisting his stance to deflect or outright dodge the attacks from his opponet.

Thrust, swing, parry, dodge, roll and then slash.

An almost silent dance between two fighters, both sporting visible grins in their faces as they continued the spar without a clear winner.

"They are still going at it?" Shinohara smiled a little and chuckled. "It's been almost two hours.."

To think that... unbelievable.

Hairu was confused at the brawl, surprised that it felt different from the usual fights she had taken part in the Garden with her siblings but... they were happy.

They were having fun for some reason and the pinkette felt a knot in her chest starting to burdening her breath.

_Why were they having fun?_

Shinohara gave one last sigh before slamming his open palm on the door of the small arena, interrupting the two fighters. "Time's up. Go and take a shower."

They chuckled and started to move towards them and Hairu blinked as her eyes settled on the black-haired youth.

"Kaizo-kun, one moment." The mentioned investigator paused and approached Shinohara.

"Shinohara-san, I-I am sorry if we wasted too much time-" "Nonsense, Kaizo-kun. It is always good to train once in a while and.. I think you should meet your newest teammate."

He frowned at the bit and then he looked at her.

She blinked just once, feeling as if she was staring at... _niisan?_

It was an odd sensation, one that brought her quite the most confusing blush but she managed to bow a little. "Ihei Hairu, 2nd Class Investigator, Kaizo-senpai."

He smiled, something that felt natural compared to her Niisan's smiles.

"Ryouga Kaizo, 1st Class Investigator. Nice too meet you, Hairu-kohai."

The pinkette smiled at the greeting, feeling like this arrangement wouldn't be... as terrible as she had thought previously.

* * *

**AN**

**Hairu is an angel and she is now a pawn in Tsuneyoshi's chessboard against Arima. An attempt to irk the heir to abide loyally to the Washuu's rule or... a test?**

**There are so many things this change will bring in the canon and... I wonder what Arima think about this...**


	12. Case 3 - Lying Soul (1)

**DISCLAIMER**

**The following is a fan-based**

**FICTION**

**Tokyo Ghoul, Tokyo Ghoul Root A and Tokyo Ghoul:re and other products related to the TG Series are all owned by Sui Ishida, Shin Towada and Shueisha.**

**Please support the official release.**

* * *

**Case 3:**** Lying Soul (1)**

* * *

I gave some quick glances at the newest member of the team and smiled a little as she tried to truly appear professional in checking her equipment but ended up showing quite the rainbow of expressions.

Panic, relief, dread, calm and so on, Hairu was already on the path to become a funny individual to have around during missions.

"A-Ano, Kaizo-senpai, when should Kuroiwa-san arrive?" I hummed quietly as I fixed my coat a little bit before turning back to look at her.

"He is not. We are going to meet with him by the place the dossier gives us." I picked a small paper out of my pocket and handed it to her, the girl blinking just once at the words before turning her attention at the content of the file.

* * *

**Case 154897**  
**Team****: **  
_**\- **_**Special Class Investigator **_**Kuroiwa Iwao **_**(Leader)**  
_**-**_** Investigator Class 1**_** Ryouga Kaizo **_**(Subordinate/Substitute Leader)**  
**\- Investigator Class 2 **_**Ihei Hairu **_**(Subordinate)**

**Setting****:**_** 2nd Ward**_  
**Duration:**** 1 Week.**  
**Description**_**: Takatsuki Sen's manager, Shiono Shunji, reported to the CCG death threats sent by Aogiri Tree to the writer after some comments the woman made during a book signing. **_

* * *

"A duration?"I heard the pinkette muse loudly as she picked the case containing Aus to follow me out of the CCG Building.

"It means that there isn't a clear possibility to be attacked by Ghouls. We are meant to protect this woman for a full week, maybe it will be extended to two if things turn even worse."

Her sleepy face gave a confused look. "Worse?"

"If the letters continue to arrive and this is seriously caused by Aogiri Tree, then she will possibly be put under the CCG's guarding list for few years."

A nod from Hairu later and we were calmly strolling through the 1st Ward toward the appartment of the author.

It was quite surprising that Kuroiwa had said very little about the mission details, especially since that deprived me from the capacity to actually help more Hairu in her first case on the camp but... maybe there was a good reason.

The man always knows what he is doing and... he still didn't show any sign of negligence in this kind of situations.

The 2nd Ward shined a little less brighter than the 1st but it was still one of the most beautiful quarters of the capital.

Until after WW2, this was considered the 'Central Ward' of Tokyo and the place where the Bank of Japan has its main headquarters. The 1st Ward was able to catch up thanks to the new corporations and Zaibatsus bringing new life to the poor quarter and becoming the main section of the city.

But it was quite surprising that I had to explain all of this to Hairu, the Kohai incredibly clueless over the capital as she had 'lived a sheltered life'.

As much as the excuse could forgive the fact she didn't knew the least familiar Wards, this motivation failed when it was referring to the 2nd Ward, one of the most important ones in the city.

The more she showed awe at the lights of Tokyo and the skyscrapers around there, the more I suspected that she was not from the city itself, having grown in a countryside village.

It was a strange thought, one that fell too when he noticed her knowledge over the basic etiquette while eating.

This sure was the strangest girl I had ever met.

We finally arrived to the appartment and were greeted by a nervous-looking man by the entrance.

Formally-dressed in a blue suit, Shiono Shunji was quite the meek individual, someone that sounded scared of everything, even his own shadow.

I struggled to keep myself from looking disappointed while looking at him, someone that was meant to be a tough nut, being the manager of a relatively-known author in the city.

And yet Shiono cared about his coworker and.. that could be the reason why he still had a good job with a good pay.

"A-Ah, the other two investigators. Th-Thank you for arriving so soon." I nodded his direction while Hairu merely smiled as we were led inside the building.

"B-Before leaving you to Takatsuki-san, I think I should explain.. few things about her." He paused in front of the door of the flat, sounding quiet and almost silent with his tone.

"And that is?"

He sighed tiredly but nodded my direction. "She could be sometimes quite.. overbearing with her questions but I can assure you both that she is genuinely trying to restrain herself from going too far with them."

"That sounds.. normal?" Hairu seemed confused by this very detail but, if I knew people like Shiono well enough, I was sure this little quirk was being sugarcoated now for some reason.

"Just.. bear with it for a while. She will get bored and pass on another topic."

That sounded terribly interesting.

The door opened and we were presented with quite the scene.

Kuroiwa was sitting in a single couch, sipping at a cup of warm tea, while chatting amiably with the woman sitting across him, in a bigger sofa, as she continued to write furiously on a small notebook.

She had green-hair combed in a small, unruly bun, a pair of glasses covering her emerald eyes. Her clothes were of questionable fashion for a woman her age but it felt quite fitting for someone that preferred comodity to appearance.

At the sounds of our footsteps entering the house, both turned to stare at us. The Senior Investigator greeted us with a nod while the woman-

A gasp left her mouth as she jumped out of her seat and rushed towards Hairu, her eyes glowing an unholy light. "She is so cute!"

...What the heck, lady?

The pinkette blinked in surprise, eyes wide open, as the woman circled her frame, almost drooling at her while nodding at herself.

"T-Takatsuki-san! Stop harrassing the kind Investigator!"

Her efforts lessened at the words but she continued to stare at the Kohai, the girl confused and quite embarassment by what had just happened.

"But she is a cutie, Shiono! She could be my Venus."

The pinkette tilted her head at the word, failing to grasp why this could relate to the situation, something I recognised quickly. "Takatsuki-san, I suggest you to calm down."

Her eyes turned onto me and she pouted. "You are the grumpiest of the group, aren't you?"

I felt oddly irked by that statement. I was usually the moderately carefree youth but the woman was bringing my serious self.

It wasn't something voluntary as I felt like she was being too cheerful that would be seriously threatened by Aogiri. She sounded much like a buffon, trying to make the public laugh by doing dumb and nonsensical jokes that may or may not succeed in the intended result.

I wasn't even smiling at this point, knowing full well that there were people making false reports that took essential time from the CCG to focus on real cases.

Yet she continued to stare, her smile showing no sign of faltering as I continued to give my greatest bored expression back to her.

It was a strange standoff, one I don't even know why it had started nor why she fiercely wanted to continue it.

Her smile widened. "You are dull."

"And you are annoying."

"Takatsuki-san!/Kaizo!"

We both blinked, turning to stare at our respective manager/leader.

I could see Kuroiwa's stern look within my sight and, from what I could glance out from the writer's cringe, I knew that the two were matching the same expression.

Few moments after and we were sitting on the couch, looking away from each other.

I was alternating my stare between the Quinque's cases and Hairu's own fidgeting self, unwilling to test the waters with Kuroiwa's current mood.

"Kaizo."

I blinked to my name being called and I turned to the Senior Investigator.

"I've decided to put you and Hairu in the second shift, from 18PM to 8AM." He stated with a calm but strict voice. "I hope you will not ruin Hairu-san's first case by behaving like a child."

I snorted, the pinkette staring at me with a confused stare as she had missed the whole issue I was experiencing.

I had done several cases now but never, and I mean 'NEVER', I have had to deal with someone this... frustrating.

The rest of the day inside the flat was spent trying to set particular paths for groceries or other situations that had the woman going outside.

It was an incredibly interesting period of time as I spent most of it being the furthest away from the green-haired terror.

Childish? Sure, but like heck I was going to be in the proximity of a formidable cause of headaches.

But I convinced myself that... I had to put a hold over this dreadful sensation I felt around the woman.

At least for Hairu's sake.

* * *

**AN**

**Third case and the Great Feud has begun!**

**Also Hairu is so clueless...**

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	13. Case 3 - Lying Soul (2)

**DISCLAIMER**

**The following is a fan-based**

**FICTION**

**Tokyo Ghoul, Tokyo Ghoul Root A and Tokyo Ghoul:re and other products related to the TG Series are all owned by Sui Ishida, Shin Towada and Shueisha.**

**Please support the official release.**

* * *

**Case 3:**** Lying Soul (2)**

* * *

While I was already experienced with night shifts thanks to the cases from last month, I was truly irritated by how things had turned out to be for that night at Takatsuki's flat.

Once it was dinner time, Kuroiwa took his leave to reach back home to his wife and son, giving the leading role for the shift to me.

It was right by the time we all heard the sound of the door clicking close that I found myself dealing with the most annoying individual I had ever met, something quite shocking for someone that had faced no little issue with women in the past but sadly true as the author was quick to try and pester Hairu with questions ranging from overly-personal to outright embarrassing on themselves.

The pinkette was polite enough to not stop the older female from storming her with words, her cheeks flushing once or twice at the carefree attitude of the writer.

Obviously I was more than happy to burst whatever bubble the green-haired woman had tried to create with the younger Investigator, interceding mostly in the chat or going to truly steamroll her own voice with serious queries regarding her house.

As much as I wanted to interact with the clearly insane woman the least possible, we were there for a serious task and every, single detail regarding Takatsuki's home was another edge to consider during our stay.

If Aogiri Tree was truly interested in the woman, which I am sure she would be more than able to harass the Ghoul organization with a cheeky smile plastered on her visage, then planning escape routes was a must, especially with how little space the place had.

Fighting here wouldn't be optimal for someone with my fighting style and being cramped with Hairu in a brawl there would hinder the mission even more.

Yet the more I tried to not focus on the dorky woman, to try and not get irked in the process of doing my job, the more I would get irked by her easygoing behavior. For someone that was meant to appear scared for her life, she was doing an awfully good job in proving that this was easily a fake call for help.

While I have never read anything written by her, the context she would bring up while trying to get Hairu's attention were evident.

Kafka is famous for writing modern, relatable tragedies. His inspiration was his harsh childhood and adult life, bringing to the world's attention how messed up humanity was in that period.

And yet the world didn't care as it spiraled down even more than before, so numb and silly.

Drowning those gloomy thoughts to focus onto the umpteenth attempt from Takatsuki as she went to embarrass Hairu once more, I started to think about my new subordinate.

Part of me wondered if she had any family left as she sounded far too trusting to be a fellow orphan. The girl was eager to learn how to improve, how to do this job properly and… she knew Arima.

That small development was brought up thanks to the chatty Takatsuki's inquisition when the pinkette was asked about what motivated her choice to join the CCG.

She had almost blurted out Arima's given name, Kishou, but had paused just in time to change the reason with something less… strange. Sure, I could be confusing the Reaper's with someone else with just that clue, but Hairu had glanced my direction when she was talking and she had appeared quite uneasy when I noticed her staring at me.

"Ne Dull-kun, what is your relationship with Hairu-chan?" The green-haired woman asked out of nowhere, a chesire smile plastered on her face. "She is not telling me and I suspect she is wasting herself on someone this dull as Dull-kun."

I bit down a tired groan and merely sighed back at her, glancing at the confused Hairu before talking. "We are partner by work, _Takatsuki-san_."

She whistled at that, turning at the fellow girl. "That is good, Hairu-chan. It means that you wouldn't have to deal with Dull-kun after this mission is over, eheh!"

I think I failed to say until that I wasn't enjoying the nickname the woman had been so keen to attach to me. It didn't help much with the fact that I was the only one forced to keep a civil behavior to the other as I had to leave a good impression to Hairu on her first mission. Knowing how easily she was to get influenced by minor actions, I decided to limit myself from retaliating but…

_Man, I hope this mission is indeed a fake!_

While I wouldn't generally wish bad things for people, especially those as annoying as the author, I was hopeful that the possible legal backlash would be good enough to bring her down to the ground and out from her childish attitude.

But maybe I need to explain myself about the reason I find her insane optimism so much infuriating: When you are a writer known for Tragedy and you have a grand perception of the world, this kind of behavior was just utterly unacceptable. To be this overly-cheerful about life but also this painfully knowing of the harsh reality was just asking for people to be angry at her.

I was glad to have brought a bento with me as when it was time for dinner, I realized that the supposed meal of the author was a small cup of instant ramen and while I wasn't someone that disliked the quick dish, I was also disgusted by the fact this has been her dinner for weeks now.

Hairu was not as prepared as I was and I decided to offer her half of the content within the small box of various seafood I had on me.

After 'cleaning up' the small trash tower of empty cups of ramen, me and my partner bid a goodnight to the eccentric author before settling in the living room.

There were two couches and so we decided to use them as our temporary beds during this stay. The night was pleasantly warm, just enough to find comfort out of it as I slowly closed my eyelids and prepared myself to fall asleep- "S-Senpai?"

I blinked and glanced tiredly at Hairu, the girl tuckered in her own makeshift bed as she gave me an inquisitive look. "I-I don't think I should ask... but why do you dislike Takatsuki-san?"

Now that was an interesting situation that I had not pictured. I nodded her direction, to let her know that I didn't mind her query and decided to speak up about it.

"Takatsuki-san is possibly lying about the situation about Aogiri, Hairu." I stated quietly. "If she had been truthful, then she wouldn't be behaving this much easygoing and-" "B-But she wasn't." She flushed as she interrupting me and I frowned at this call.

"What do you mean?" Whatever attempt to build up an explanation for her sudden outburst was replaced by embarrassment as she explained her logic.

"T-Takatsuki-san's hands were trembling a little as she handled her cup of coffee and she looked a little paler compared to the photos she had around her house.

...What?

Actually, now that I was thinking about it, she didn't look a little forced in her tone as she was speaking with Hairu but… "What if it's just a cold? We are close to winter and-"

"S-She was also behaving more erratic as Shiono-san had said few hours ago. H-He said that she could be-" " A coping mechanism?" She nodded at my interruption and I found myself even more confused. "Do you think this theory could be truly a tangible possibility, Hairu?"

The pinkette blinked, her face scrunching in a little thinking expression and then she nodded. "It is possible."

I nodded and smiled at the fact she hadn't stuttered there. Small steps, I repeated in my mind, small steps.

"Good to see that you got an acute perception of things, Kohai. It shows that you have quite the potential."

She blushed and nodded at me, flattered by my compliments.

As silence returned on the living room, I used this opportunity to indeed think about the woman that was Takatsuki Sen and, as much as it pained me to say, I did found Hairu's theory genuinely fitting with her overall attitude.

Her overbearing cheerfulness could be a product of whatever personal issue had been afflicting her and, frankly, I could see her trying to use insanity to cover up her own falling pieces.

Tomorrow will surely shed some light about my confusion. **Hopefully.**

* * *

If there was something that Tatara despise the most, it was being forced by Eto in some of her whims.

Aogiri Tree was supposed to keep quiet for still few more weeks after what had happened few months earlier, to recover and avoid attention on it, but the Owl had other plans.

Curiosity trumped logic, that was something that represented best the one-eyed ghoul and this was by far not the worst thing she had pulled because of her quirky needs of knowing everyone and everything.

Maybe it was a general obsession about knowing the world around her, or maybe she was showing paranoia with her eccentric way.

Sighing to myself, his mind reminded him about the plan the ghoulette had prepared for the Doves. Tomorrow afternoon the 'author' was supposed to go out for some quick groceries and bring with her the two investigators on that shift right into an ambush.

Noro had wanted to be the only individual on the spot but both Eto and Tatara had dismissed the semi-mindless Ghoul from that peculiar role. They needed to forge out some skirmish, a brief one that would see 'Aogiri repelled by the CCG' and prove to the Investigators that the organization was truly trying to 'kill' Sen Takatsuki.

The high coordinator was going to be the one responsible of keeping both investigators busy, to gauge their strength and properly dispatch of them if they were far too strong to be kept alive.

The plan was easy, flawless in its simplicity and yet the tall Ghoul had some doubts about the human that was going to be the big threat in the fight.

Ryouga Kaizo had grown by leaps and bounds ever since their first encounter and if Tatara had to study the young man from the most recent known fight he had with Ayato, then he was genuinely perplexed about the youngster's capacity to survive against him.

There was no inclination shown from the investigator that he would once more foolishly ditch one of his Quinques as a respectful attempt on his person and his close-range Quinque had proved to be far stronger than the chinese Ghoul had expected it to become.

Hopefully his doubts will be soothed by the time he had finished off the rising human from ever achieving a superior level of threat.

Maybe he was paranoid, maybe he was overestimating the human because of still unknown reasons.

Something was missing, Tatara mused as he finished signing another document from his paperwork, and tomorrow will be more than enough to shed some light over his confusion. **Hopefully.**

* * *

**AN**

**Next chapter is already being written as you are reading this!**

**P a treon . com (slash) socialistbukharin**

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	14. Case 3 - Lying Soul (3)

**The following is a fan-based**

**FICTION**

**Tokyo Ghoul, Tokyo Ghoul Root A and Tokyo Ghoul:re and other products related to the TG Series are all owned by Sui Ishida, Shin Towada and Shueisha.**

**Please support the official release.**

* * *

**Case 3:**** Lying Soul (3)**

* * *

When I woke up with Hairu shrieking in fear, I had expected to find myself in some serious situations, like Aogiri Tree attacking or Takatsuki-san proving to be something like a vampire.

I mean, I saw some interesting bags under her eyes and her eccentric attitude had to have been caused by something like that.

So imagine my surprise when I jumped off the sofa, quinque case ready to be deployed!- only to see that the reason why the pinkette was suffering was Takatsuki-san… hugging the girl?

At first I was highly confused by the scene, trying to make sense of Hairu's panicking expression and then… reality sunk in my brain.

Blinking once. Cheeks are flaring.

Twice. My brain was overheating.

Thrice. My jaws dropped to the floor.

"WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!"

My loud outburst managed to distract the author right for the poor girl to react rightfully. The older female 'eeped' as she was dropped on the ground butt first, her stare turning hateful as she looked at me.

"Dull-kun, what do you mean 'what am I doing?!'?" She pouted, but I was too much incensed by the scene to be fazed by it. "I was just measuring Hairu-chan up! It's my holy duty as her honorary Onee-san."

"O-Onee-san?" The sleepy-looking girl repeated, confusion clear on her face while the writer let out a 'kyah' in response to her.

"See? She is adorable and-" "Takatsuki-san, stop harassing my partner!"

"Nothing will stop me from becoming one with my imouto!-" She paused as the doorbell rang across the flat. "Except the doorbell, I guess!"

This woman was utterly mad. There was no explanation in the world that could prove me wrong.

If Hairu's theory was correct and that Takatsuki was truly coping like this some serious traumatic experience, God knows what kind of deep issues it was all about.

Possibly something worse than PTSD itself if what had just happened was to be taken into account.

My musing were brought to an end as the woman returned with Kuroiwa following behind, the man frowning at what he was seeing and- "Dull-kun was saying bad things to me, Kuroiwa-san!"

"WHAT? I WAS-" "Kaizo!" I closed my mouth at the reprimanding tone but- I WAS SO ANGRY.

I delivered my most hateful glare at the cheeky writer as she proceeded to keep up her act. I was trying so hard to not just spat more poison when I was actually blessed with an ally.

"K-Kuroiwa-san, T-Takatsuki-san was actually doing embarrassing things to me a-and Kaizo-senpai was helping me."

The entire situation was subverted by Hairu's intervention, my glare lessening as I was bestowed with the betrayed look now painted on the green-haired woman.

It would seem like the table had turned against you, Takatsuki-san.

"Is that so, Takatsuki-san?" The woman glanced nervously at the bulky investigator and I decided to wait to be outside of that place to genuinely gloat at how things had turned into.

"I-It was a silly game." She chuckled uneasy, her eyes closed to not show the blatant lying she was pulling in front of the senior CCG officer.

"I will remind you that we aren't here for any 'silly games', Takatsuki-san." Iwao stated with a serious tone, not an ounce of softness available for the poor author. "I would ask you to not try anything like that with my subordinates in the future as I will not take this as kindly as Kaizo-san is."

I genuinely blinked in surprise at that, not expecting this kind of overreaction from the usually calm giant that was the CCG's Rock.

With this concluded, I was quick to find my formal uniform and, after wearing it, I was ready to go- except that I was stopped by my mentor.

"Kaizo-kun, just a moment." He said calmly and I turned my full attention on him. "The Director wanted me to inform you that Hairu will be staying with you and Suzuya-kun."

My eyes widened at that news. "B-But-" "Suzuya-kun has been already informed and has given the permission to have her by your home." He paused just a moment. "I know that this is weird but… Tsuneyoshi-sama told me that Hairu-san did have a meager flat on her name and the director wanted to rectify that."

By putting it all like this… "I guess I will have to accept it." I replied quietly. "I mean, Hairu-san looks to be a trustworthy individual and… I guess if Juuzou is fine then so I am."

"Good." The man smiled, patting my shoulder. "Then would you be kind enough to wait for her? I don't want for her to be alone in this Ward with Aogiri Tree in the area."

I nodded and I proceeded to do so. The girl had been unaware of this development, which surprised me a little as I had expected this all to have been an agreement between her and the elder Washuu, but she took the news positively as she stated she was glad 'that I had kindly took her in'.

The phrasing of her reaction was odd but I shrugged at the time as I didn't know what it could possibly mean. The walk back to the apartment was a brief one but I was quick to show the introvert girl around the Ward.

I showed her the hyper-marker that Juuzou and I went usually to buy things, I got her an ice cream from a local vendor and we finally enjoyed a quiet walk in the bustling city of the capital.

The reason behind this large detour was mostly because I wished to know a little more about my so-secretive kohai and learn more I did.

She likes sweet things, voiced some interest in visiting the nearby park once the mission was over and she behaved a little more openly when only with few people around.

Overall the experience gave me a little more insight over the girl that was the third-in-command but it also left some interesting questions in return.

Like the fact that she had been living far away from the city… but looked quite sophisticated attitude-wise. Maybe Hairu was a rich-kind of sheltered girl but that would leave so much in the open, like how she knew Arima and why she had joined the CCG.

It was unusual for rich families to have their children enrolled at the Academy, mostly because they were supposed to be heirs of important groups, either an industrial or a political one. The pinkette was curiously enough unaware of both categories and… that was confusing.

We finally reached the flat and… the door was open wide.

How curious… I slowly walked towards it, Hairu glancing confusedly as she followed behind and, as I went to turn the corner and see what was going on-*Thud*

"Ugh!?" I fell on the ground, a giggling missile hugging finishing tackling me down with a big smile.

"Kai-nii!" Emi giggled again and I cracked a smile, patting the little girl's head. "Rei-nii says that we are getting a new friend and-" She paused as she noticed Hairu making a step in our direction, freezing right as the child looked at her.

Emi squealed. "Woah!" She jumped off of me and skipped until she was in front of the pinkette, staring up with a big smile.

"My name is Ryouga Emi, what is your name, Pretty-neechan?"

...Oh my god. My heart almost gave out as the little girl gave the brightest smile to the surprised young woman.

Hairu's reaction looked involuntary but she still crouched just a little, smiled herself too and proceeded to pat the child's black hair. "Nice to meet you, Emi-chan. My name is Ihei Hairu but I am not that pretty-"

"Hai-nee is super pretty!" Emi interjected, leaving no space for protests as the young woman finally discovered the very thing she had never expected to deal with in her whole life.

A girl, younger and adorable that could make her own heart melt with just a smile.

Oh, the humanity!

As the Emi-induced cuteness subsided, I found myself asking out loud a legitimate question. "But why was the door open?"

The little girl turned, her eyes sparkling a little. "Rei-nii was there when the tall mister brought Hai-nee's baggage and he was trying out some clothes-"

Trying some clothes- "Oh nooooo." I facepalmed as I knew exactly why the child was this much excited.

After having been with Juuzou for so long, I knew very well that 'pretty dresses' were a weakness for the boy. Sure, he wouldn't actively seek to try those out, but he had shown grand interest in getting one or two pair of female clothing.

He recognized himself as a man but he would try once in a while to crossdress. For the fun of it, he had said and… I kind of imagined the prank-potential behind it all for the prankster to use so delightfully on his unaware preys.

So imagine as I vaulted over the entrance and saw the feminine Juuzou Suzuya walking towards the door while donning a simple white dress. His short hair was combed in a curvy style and I blinked at the overall result.

"How do I look?" I blinked as he made a quick twirl in front of me and I nodded with a small smile. "If you went outside you would pass as a girl."

"Yatta." He low-key celebrated at the potential behind the clothes and-

"Kaizo-senpai, is it alright if we enter-ed." Hairu paused as she caught sight of Juuzou, the feminine boy letting out a giggle-chuckle at the stunned expression on the pinkette's face.

I was smiling myself… until I noticed that she kept like this for a good minute. "K-Kohai?"

She didn't answer, instead I noticed a red bloody trail descending out of her nose as her cheeks were flaring red.

….What?

After this little development, which I was still unsure about, we decided to help Hairu to settle down in one of the unused rooms and, once lunchtime arrived, we enjoyed our first lunch together.

As I took a bite out of the delicious ham sandwich, I wondered how things were doing for Takatsuki-san and how things were going to escalate once our shift was going to happen.

_**Who knows, maybe nothing was going to happen and my gut feeling was just messing with me…**_

* * *

**AN**

**Prepare to see the Great Feud escalating even more, this time bringing everyone close to Defcon 2! Also Hairu just learned about the power of cute, little girls and, about that, no I am not going to turn her into a general pervert about this stuff (it has passed my mind but I am holding strong with my values… kinda).**


	15. Case 3 - Lying Soul (4)

**The following is a fan-based**

**FICTION**

**Tokyo Ghoul, Tokyo Ghoul Root A and Tokyo Ghoul:re and other products related to the TG Series are all owned by Sui Ishida, Shin Towada and Shueisha.**

**Please support the official release.**

* * *

**Case 3:**** Lying Soul (4)**

* * *

Hairu was unsure how to properly define the night spent at her senpai's flat.

The place lacked immensely compared to the dorms in the Sunlit Garden in size but had a distinct warmth that she found endearing.

Memories of the previous dinner were the first things that had reached her mind when she woke up early in the morning, her new bed being a more than acceptable replacement for the one she had back 'home'.

Suzuya-san was a very… interesting young man. The very usage of the term drained so much of the sight she would get from the pretty investigator as he flaunted his unnatural beauty by choosing both feminine and masculine clothes without a particular notion of dress code.

It was comfy, he had commented when the pinkette asked him about the reasons behind this choice and her senpai had further supported that claim.

It wasn't something about 'confusion' nor a need to be more 'feminine', but something that spurned out of a need to stay cozy with his own clothes.

A selfish thought, but one the girl found easy to forgive as she could hardly fault a normal human being enjoying his right to be happy without causing general harm to anyone.

That dinner Hairu tasted something she had never thought she would have had the chance of trying. She had heard of the KFC brand, having seen several workers back in the Garden bringing some special bentos during Christmas time.

The aroma was curious, but the girl had well-thought of not daring to steal even a small piece of that interesting food composition.

When she found herself provided with several fried chicken nuggets, she decided to be polite and… try to eat one with her own hands. She had first seen both Suzuya-san and her superior use this kind of odd mannerism and by the time she took it in her arms, she understood why.

The pieces were relatively smalls and using cutlery to eat them would make it a slow-paced situation.

Before giving the first bite, she glanced at the fourth occupant of the room.

Eating the food in a moderate pace, Emi-chan was now an embodiment of pure happiness. Small sounds of delight leaved her mouth mid-bites and that only ended up fueling the growing curiosity of the Pinkette.

Hairu took the first bite and… the world _exploded_ in her mouth.

The food back in the Sunlight Garden was bland if not stale, the need of having large quantities of nourishment outweighing the need of having good quality.

So when the delicious taste of chicken, mixed with the spices carefully added to further boost the flavor, reached her mind, she experienced a quick reboot.

Her minor worries of not fitting in with this whole predicament melting as her hunger ruled out most of her logic.

Keeping a limited mannerism, she started to slowly devour her share of food and was glad to find comfort by the smiles the small family was offering her as she happily finished eating the last bits of chicken.

The treat was met with further generosity as the room she was provided looked nice to the eye.

It wasn't nowhere as saddening as her previous living conditions.

Sleep was easy to find thanks to the tiredness of a good day spent trying to figure out any possible plans they could formulate out of the usual walk's path Takatsuki-san was usually taking to pick groceries or going to Shoeisha to request some revisions for her works.

A dreamless rest later, Hairu found herself walking slowly towards the living room as her nose picked the particular aroma of chocolate and milk.

Indeed sitting on the small table of the room were four small cups, filled with a white-brown amalgamation that brought her to question its taste.

"Good morning, pretty-nee." The pinkette greeted back at the black-haired child and proceeded to take the seat she had previously occupied the day before. Her hands took the cup and she was pleased by the acceptable warmth it was giving her already.

Mustering some courage, she took a sip and her eyes widened at the interesting combination that reached her tongue.

It was sweet, but it also had something bitter in minor part. Coffee?

She took another glimpse and indeed she was sure that caffeine had been added to the composition made by milk and chocolate.

"'Morning, Hai-chan." Juuzou chirped in as he emerged from the kitchen, followed by tired-looking Kaizo-senpai.

Not a morning person? Now that was something Hairu could relate just a little. It had been difficult for her to pick up the need of getting up so early in the morning back during the simulations, but now she was capable of drowning away the post-sleep fatigue.

"Suzuya-san, Kaizo-senpai." Her superior grumbled something similar to a 'good morning' as he slumped in his seat and started to drink from his own cup.

It was a curious phenomenon the one that followed, the young man slowly regaining some energy from the drink as he finished drinking the content with a small smile in his face and little sign of his previous sleepiness.

The breakfast continued for few more minutes as they got to eat some biscuits before rushing to fresh themselves up for their day.

Juuzou was quick in getting out of the bathroom with some new clothes, same for her senpai.

Hairu decided to hasten her usual process just a little and was glad when she got ready with an acceptable timing.

Emi was the slowest but that was because the child hardly had much to do in that specific day, thus meaning she didn't have a reason to rush things up.

After leaving the flat, the two investigators decided to arrive early for their shift.

Kuroiwa-san had a family back home, thus he could be spared few minutes of leaving early to go home. That was what her senpai had stated and… she had found it a rightful justification in her mind.

The senior investigator had been quite kind to her, 'fatherly' if the term was truly applicable from her point of view, and giving him some more rest might be a good way to show some gratitude.

Obviously the man was surprised, but a little happy that he was let off from the shift a tiny bit earlier than planned.

Takatsuki-san was still sleeping soundly back in her room and caution to not wake her up was more than repeated by the leading figure of the operation. While the writer shouldn't oversleep as much as she shouldn't overwork herself, giving her one or two more hours of rest would give them some more time to prepare for another day in that apartment.

The living room looked… lighter. The adjective a mix of cleaner and more illuminated as the curtains were raised a little more than usual.

They quietly sat down in the couches, picking up some of the paperwork as her senpai… explained to her how to write a report.

While the pinkette was experienced in writing elaborated texts, a report required some… minor adjustment compared to her usual formal style.

Sure, formality was something that a document as important as a report necessitated, but it was also true that it needed some proper usage of the grammar.

Antiquate terms were to be avoided, only technical words were allowed to pass in the stern but understanding judgment of her superior.

A full hour was spent properly learning how to sign down a proper after-action report and Hairu was pleased that she had indeed improved if her senpai's words were to be taken as truth.

As she smiled at her hard-work, the young woman felt a chill go down her spine as she perceived someone behind her.

A- A ghoul?

Panickly, she tried to grasp her Quinque but- it was too late.

Kaizo's jaw dropped as poor Hairu was _groped _once more by one perverted Takatsuki Sen.

"Hairu-chan~."

An angry tick appeared in her senpai's forehead. "Let her go, you pervert!"

At the accusation Takatsuki-san merely giggled lewdly as she continued to once more pester the girl, the pinkette incredibly embarrassed by the sudden humiliation she was facing.

So, as a composed and cultured member of the CCG, she did the only thing that sounded right to do in that very moment.

_**Kyaaaaaaaaah!**_

* * *

Put in a fetal position, Hairu pressed her face on the back-pillow of the couch as I continued to lecture the air-headed writer.

Nursing her bump, which I had proudly made on her head at seeing her causing such an obscene scene to my poor Kohai, I continued to reprimand her for the deplorable attitude she had been having regarding the girl.

"I-I was just trying to be friendly with her." I facepalmed at her meek excuse, she was an utter klutz.

"How is molesting her synonymous of 'befriending her'?"

At this she actually picked up a small book-no, a _thin_ book and I paled as she showed me the cover.

Well, I saw this one book and the two girls here 'befriended' each other and I thought it was the right way."

I stared at her intensively, trying to spot any hint that she was actually lying, before facepalming at her surprising lack of knowledge of that… kind of material.

"You should seriously never use that as a reference in _ANY_ situation, Takatsuki-san."

She giggled before nodding. "Okay~."

Something in that tone gave me reason to not trust her in pursuing such advice.

After this bit the writer seemed to calm down, toning down her overly-childish/perverted behavior as she spent a good hour writing down on her notebook, barely glancing up from the paper.

I suppose serious authors do focus this much on their own work and I decided to not hinder her important activity.

An hour later, the woman happily closed the small booklet with a sight. "I think I am done for now."

Her vibrant green eyes turned in my direction as she smiled a little. "I am hungry."

Her statement was… confusing. Maybe it was little detailed but… it was indeed time for lunch by now. I slowly started to wake Hairu, the girl having fallen asleep in the couch after the previous shenanigans. "Uh-Wha-"

"It's lunch-time, I will prepare-"

"There is nothing good in the fridge." Takatsuki dropped this unknown truth just now. "Kuroiwa-san said that we could go and pick some groceries."

It was possible that the oldest of the trio had found the current eating habits of the young woman quite unhealthy and had sternly reminded her of the importance of a good balance about food.

The walk outside the apartment was relatively uneventful, there were small crowds along the way to the super-market and the shopping was quite smooth and quick.

It was during the return that I felt that something was off.

As we continued to walk back to the flat, the amount of people had severely diminished compared to before and soon we were alone in the street.

The wind was chillingly cool that day and I could feel it through the long coat.

What an interesting set-up, I mused silently as I spotted a familiar red cloak in one of the balconies above. My grip over Douhi's case tightened, ready to deploy the Quinque any moment now.

"Isn't the weather nice today?" It was cloudy, a very sad scenery to fight. The two women stopped at the sudden comment, staring at the sky as Hairu quickly noticed that my tone was now hiding something serious, something cryptically left for her to pick.

She lost some moments to pick what it could be, but her eyes were now set in another Ghoul hiding out.

Her mouth opened but the loud blast of Douhi deafened her voice for a moment as the powerful fire blast slammed on the poor bastard I had spotted earlier.

The shrieks were followed by its corpse falling on the ground as the trap was sprung prematurely.

Three other figures jumped in action, their kagunes (a mix of Rinkakus and Koukakus) fleshing out as they started to engage us.

Takatsuki-san was smart enough to not put herself between her attackers and her defenders, hiding behind the latter ones as I started to take two of them with Akaimaru.

Surprise at the sudden flames sprouting out of the edges of the Quinque was what truly sealed their end as the blade cut flawlessly their heads off.

While Hairu was dealing with just an opponent and had Aus with her, the lack of experience with the strong lance was enough to balance the fight as the Ghoul was far more battle-hardened than she was.

The Koukaku was precisely targeting the long Quinque away from achieving a hit on his guard and he was doing a precise job in keeping the pressure on the pinkette. Douhi was something he had not taken into account, the sniping shot melting his head off without much hesitation.

As her opponent fell by the side, the girl _pouted_ at the predicament, having lost the chance to prove her worth with that Ghoul.

I was about to call her off and to reunite when I felt something rushing by us.

I raised Akaimaru just in time to block the powerful attempt of a Bikaku to have a stab at me. I blinked at the strong tendril and I paled a little as I followed it back to its owner.

He was here.

The memories of the beating I had suffered back then were still fresh on my mind, but not as a limitation.

It was a spurning sense of killing the perpetrator.

Tatara didn't show particular interest, his eyes aimed neither at me nor Hairu.

The red tail forced me to move out of the way, while also slamming the pinkette far from Takatsuki-san.

I merely blinked as the tall ghoul literally burned the distance in a single rush, grabbing the author and starting to run away.

_Not this time_.

My kohai's face was giving off the same emotion as we started to give chase through the intricate system of alleys the white-haired scumbag was using to elude us.

Minutes passed and the narrow ways were starting to get irking as it was difficult to run through a place meant to allow just a single individual to run.

Still the mad chase ended up in the worst place it could have taken us into. A warehouse.

The yells of 'help' from the writer echoed through the abandoned building and I sighed, glancing at my subordinate. "You go for the sidewalk, I will try to force him in the open."

The pinkette nodded as she rushed to the upper level of the warehouse as I ventured deep in the massive center of the principal room.

The machinery that was left to dust here resembled the ones used usually to fabricate toys, some pieces of dolls and other objects further made this theory a literal fact.

Just as I finished this musing I felt several footsteps approaching and I found myself swarmed by Aogiri Tree thugs.

Kagunes flaring furiously and directed at me, I sighed as I let myself flow through the multiple attacks aimed at my person.

Akaimaru burned brightly as I started to pick one by one the group of Ghouls that had decided to take the challenge of killing me.

I was smiling a little, a terrible reaction that Juuzou had rubbed on me after so many spars spent together, but the blood and guts already flying as I swung around my limited space was enough to repress any 'joyful' thought about the matter.

**_But just as Kaizo continued to fight off the second ambush from the organization, Hairu found herself dealing with a more dangerous situation_.**

Takatsuki-san was sitting on the ground ,shaking in panic as Tatara advanced towards the female investigator.

"So you are Kaizo-san's subordinate?" The tall Ghoul mused as his Kagune almost-hypnotically hovered above his head. "Then I expect you will give me some challenge."

The pinkette didn't reply, Aus held close as she tried to find any possible opening on the seemingly undefended guard of the aggressor.

Without further words, the man rushed forward with his tendril ready to land a killing blow.

* * *

**AN**

**The battle has began and it is Hairu-chan that will deal with Tatara at first.**

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	16. Case 3 - Lying Soul (5)

**The following is a fan-based**

**FICTION**

**Tokyo Ghoul, Tokyo Ghoul Root A and Tokyo Ghoul:re and other products related to the TG Series are all owned by Sui Ishida, Shin Towada and Shueisha.**

**Please support the official release.**

* * *

**Case 3:**** Lying Soul (5)**

* * *

Hairu's mind was going miles per hour as she continue to run around the slim corridors of the abandoned warehouse. Takatsuki-san was well-straddled on her back as she continued to evade the merciless Ghoul behind her.

She could remember lessons about Bikaku-type Ghouls, how their kagune and overall statistics are the best available for the flesh-eaters. Strong, quick and incredibly durable, those Ghouls were hunted down the most as the Quinque that could be made by those were of prime quality.

And yet the pinkette could hardly think of capturing the tall monster, struggling enough trying to keep away from the relentless foe. A pipe near her broke as she rushed on the opposite side. The quick corners offered minor relief as she continued to prolong this chase as much as possible.

The options available were:  
A) Her senpai managed to reach them before suffering any injury;  
B) Somehow she managed to get them hidden away from the experienced Aogiri Tree operative and get the chance of calling for Kuroiwa-san;

Option A was optimal and the easiest to achieve in terms of acceptable timing. Kuroiwa-san would take way too much time to reach this section of the city, his house several Wards away from here. Kaizo-senpai was literally within the building and could offer help if she managed to reunite with him.

Finally the monotony of going left and right was broken the moment she spotted a metallic staircase that led downstairs, to the ground level. She rushed, her speed picking a pace superior to the previous one and Hairu decided to jump as she felt the Ghoul following her example.

His footsteps quickening to an unnerving level and she could feel the Kagune rustling above her and as she jumped forward, skipping the staircase, she felt the rustling come down, bringing some wind is it missed both females and slammed onto the staircase itself.

The aftermath of her quick-thinking was a generous reward, the Bikaku having some trouble pulling out of the mangle of metal it had created and gave her some time to get some time and space to think her next plan of action.

This individual, Tatara, was incredibly capable in using his Kagune. Its mastery of the single tendril was so dangerous that he could perfectly work around close spaces, the very situation Bikakus would usually have trouble to deal with.

Lungs straining as Hairu settled the shaking author on the ground, she addressed the silent question coming off from the older woman's panicking eyes. "I- I will get him off from you. T-Try to get some help?"

Takatsuki-san was quiet for a moment, then she nodded as she proceeded to rush through the exit door near where they were staying.

The pinkette was out of breath, the cat-and-mouse play leaving her quite tired. The monster was approaching and Aus was once more out. The Quinque had been damaged few minutes earlier as she deflected the powerful strike of the Kagune, the Rinkaku-type Quinque unable to keep up with the sterner tendril and losing part of its blade in the process of blocking the first attack.

At least she wasn't fighting in a small space, the young investigator reminded to herself. The tall Ghoul finally turned the corner and seemed unfazed by the fact the young woman was now waiting for him. His speed picked up again and the Kagune probed aggressively on her defense.

Aus deflected again, this time the entire Quinque taking the blunt of the strike and letting out an uneasy groan as it resisted the attack. While it was still holding together, Hairu was certain now that her Quinque was uncapable of keeping up with the man-eater's Kagune.

"You could just surrender the writer." The aggression relented just a moment, giving her the time to properly understand the words. "It would be over right there, without the need to shed unnecessary blood."

She merely blinked as she dodged the restarting attempt at her life, Aus now relegated to a last ditch effort situation in the current state it was. Surrendering? What a ridiculous notion to even consider. Hairu was a proud member of the CCG, part of the cadet branch of the Washuu…

And she was incredibly tired. Her body was straining beyond its current limits to merely keep up with the attacks that aimed at her. Her mind was hardly keeping up with the current predicament as she was merely keeping it focused on dodging the attacks and only that.

The situation was difficult, one of the things books and training had not prepared her to deal with and… she was starting to think that she wasn't ready. Maybe Tsuneyoshi had been right with his decision to put her on another team, the pressure of this kind of work something she was incapable of dealing with.

Maybe that was why Arima had never tried to subvert this decision, knowing that she needed some call from reality about the way things worked in this profession. Maybe she wasn't ready-

Her musing died abruptly the moment her footing, until now wobbly at best, was lost to her and she fell on the ground, dodging some gazing hits of the Bikaku.

"A pathetic display of strength." The Ghoul sneered, his tone belittling her further than her own mind. It was like back in the Garden, the chiding this time was the prelude of a murder-inducing punishment.

The Kagune was poised up above him head, lifted and ready to strike her down.

The young woman blinked again, this time fear felt oddly irrelevant as the attack started to come down. Was it because she knew she had gone too far? That she had overestimated herself.

Hairu's brain stopped with this senseless questioning when she saw quite the impressive action.

The Bikaku stopped on its way to pierce her head, the responsible being the familiar blade protruding from behind, burning brightly as it tore through the Ghoul's chest and clothes.

"Tatara-san." Kaizo muttered with a strangely calm tone. "Why are you so rude?"

The tall man finally recovered from the brief pain and surprise, merely sighing at her senpai's question. "You are not my target." The masked figure replied with the same calm. "But you might try and give the entertainment your younger companion had failed to prove to be capable of giving."

Her leading officer merely scoffed at those words. "You mistake my words."

Kaizo looked at her and mouthed a 'run' to the pinkette, the surprised girl nodding quickly.

"Then please, Kaizo-san, would you enlighten me of this 'mistake'." Hairu took this to pick herself up from the floor and start running on the opposite direction, the Bikaku rattling again but not moving immediately.

"You hurt my kohai." His words were followed by a quick explosion, fiery flames consuming the entire Kagune, forcing it to collapse back within the man's kakuhou. "And that is not something I can forgive you about."

* * *

Pulling Akaimaru out of the recoiling AT operative, I managed to dodge a punch directed right at my face. My feet brought me away from the recovering Kagune, Douhi still smoking at the precise shot that took the Bikaku down just moments ago.

"Truly? You call me rude after breaking your own promise?" His prime target was the blade in my hands, having quickly taken under consideration the higher damage input. Now that was annoying.

I dodged the attack, cutting part of the offending tendril and cauterizing the Kagune from fully regenerating. It was a meek consolation and advantage, but everything was more than welcome in dealing with this ruthless Ghoul.

"I wonder if you are the rude one here." The Kagune returned to the charge, this time the man himself rushing together with it as he tried to put more pressure on my stance. Sadly for him, I had long accepted the need to render my mobility flexible to the various situations.

Thus as he rushed towards me, I merely took a precise aim at his legs and- **BAM**

The fire bullets pierced finely his lower limbs, debilitating any attempt to come closer to me. His upper face was now showing some more emotions. There was annoyance, awe and… anger.

I blinked, dodging a barrage of fire coming from the Ghoul and saw his lower mask opening to fully utilize this organic flamethrower. This very development proved that the man was indeed related to the Ghoul from which Douhi was created from.

An interesting development that was meant to be taken very carefully. While studying Tatara's dossier, I had come to realize that there was someone that the Chinese Ghoul hated the most. Kousuke Houji, Takizawa's leader, was responsible for the destruction of the organization that was known as Chi She Lian years ago. Among the Ghouls harvested from that collaboration with the Chinese branch of the CCG, there was the one that helped in the creation of the Douhi-class Quinque.

And with me using Douhi against him, I was slowly grating at his nerves. It was a good thing to know but also an unpleasant one. The man was starting to get a little more desperate in his attacks and soon, I was forced to take a more balanced stance to fend off his suddenly higher speed.

Nothing worthwhile and soon, I managed to chip away another part of his Bikaku. The Kagune was reformed again, this time the stress of the regeneration evident on his face. "It would seem that I will have to take you seriously."

I blinked again, this time paling as a strange Kagune started to slowly form out. It was a dark gray in color, spreading through his body and- a Kakuja.

The evolution of a Kagune, the apex of Ghoulkind. Only those who had consumed a large amount of Ghoul flesh could attain such level and… and the lowest Rank for those beings was 'SS'.

I had distanced myself too far from being able to intervene and was ready to brace myself for something I was completely unprepared to deal with. My Quinques were not ready to face something armored and-

**Swing**

**Thud**

Tatara paused, his head turning at the sudden pain in his left arm- _or lack of it_ – as the limb fell on the ground, Aus shining in the shadows as Hairu managed to 'disarm' the Ghoul's transformation. My wide eyes were drawn at the happy expression on the pinkette's face as she managed to land a decisive hit on the very enemy that had given her the most humiliating rant.

Her smile was bright- **CRUNCH**

My jaws dropped the moment I saw the man-eater twist his body to land a powerful blow on the glaring opening on the girl's body, a sickening noise following as the young woman was launched away from us.

I followed her form as she rolled on the ground, her face still visible once she stopped and… she mouthed something. **Do it**.

A massive Bikaku formed, several times thicker than the previous known tendril as it raced towards me, the owner roaring in feral pain- _only to be split in half_ _by Akaimaru._

Without wasting further time, I rushed towards the Ghoul. My mind was set on a single pattern: hit, hit, hit.

There wasn't any restriction in what I was using. Akaimaru, Douhi, fist, leg. The quicker I ended this bastard, the quicker I would have been able to provide help for my Kohai. Now it was no more a situation I was supposed to end the Ghoul, Tatara becoming secondary as my truest duty as protector overlapped my duty as eradicator.

As I slammed the red blade onto his stomach for the umpteenth time, I heard the tall being spitting blood, his lungs contracting at the sudden cut on them and, as I took the weapon back, I watched the Ghoul fall on the ground, defeated.

Moments passed and I sighed tiredly, the sudden rush induced by adrenaline and panic finally subsiding as I quickly ran towards Hairu. I crouched and slowly picked her up, carefully enough to avoid pressuring any of her broken ribs.

She groaned at the sudden moving but she seemed to calm a little as she noticed who was causing it. "S-Senpai?"

"I got this, Hairu. Just stay awake- Kuroiwa-san will be there quickly."

She looked dazedly as her smile seemed to soften more and more. "I- I know?" A giggle left her mouth, her head quietly snuggling closer to my lap as she tried to raise herself up a little more.

"Did I- Did I do well?" She asked, her smile thinning. "Di-Did I help?"

"You damn well did." I muttered without a filter, feeling the need to keep polite now useless. "And you are going to be the goddamn greatest investigator in the future."

"Mh? Really?" I nodded and she giggled again. "T-Then I have to- to stay awake?"

"Yes."

"Muh..." She pouted childishly, still complying to the request.

_Twenty minutes later, Kuroiwa-san would reach the warehouse with a full platoon of CCG Enforcers and medics. Hairu was immediately treated while on her way to the closest hospital, expected to make a full recovery in a week._

_As I finished helping the girl on the medical stretcher, I was taken by the side by a worried Kuroiwa. As the Enforcers secured the entire building, only one thing was missing from the scene._

**_Tatara's bleeding body. It wasn't there anymore._**

* * *

**AN**

**Tatara is not dead, worry not I ain't killing good potential for some deep plot.**

**Hairu risked a lot, making the mistake of placing her work in front of her survival. She almost paid the price and that is going to be the main theme for the aftermath of this case.**

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**Guest (Chapter 8)****: I can understand the reasoning but… why is Shinohara capable of surviving a killing blow to the spine? I think the Manga used the same excuse for his recovery to allow Kuroiwa to survive. Something about scientists managing to create some powerful medicines from the rest of Dragon that could heal previously incurable illnesses (I wonder if that could mean Cancer) and speed-up human regeneration.**


	17. Interlude 3: You are (not) alone

**The following is a fan-based**

**FICTION**

**Tokyo Ghoul, Tokyo Ghoul Root A and Tokyo Ghoul:re and other products related to the TG Series are all owned by Sui Ishida, Shin Towada and Shueisha.**

**Please support the official release.**

* * *

**Interlude 3:**** You are (not) alone**

* * *

If there was something that Hairu was learning to despise after waking up from the lethargic rest she had come from, it was the terrible grouchiness that came with the sense of numbness caused by the painkillers the doctors had administered in her body.

She had come close to lose her job as the surgery she had to take to stabilize her rib-cage had a moderate chance of leaving her bones too frail to undertake any other missions in the field. The pinkette realized full well that grazing this close Death's doorstep had been a silly move.

But regret? There wasn't much of it. It had all been done to help in exterminating the dangerous Ghoul that had tried to kill their 'objective'. Maybe she could have planned it another way, maybe her senpai would have managed through without her intervention but…

She was happy to have given her direct contribution to the mission. Behind the tired expression that adorned her face was a sense of gratification beyond anything she had expected to feel from such intervention. It was a soaring feeling that left her a little lighter in her mind, but also more lucid than usual.

Gray eyes moved away from the white covers of her bed and to the side, where someone was peacefully resting in one of the available chairs. Ryouga Kaizo continued to impress her with how determined he was with his intention of keeping guard over here during visit times. Kuroiwa-san would grace some visits frequently, but Kaizo was the one that kept being there every day.

After such a difficult mission, two weeks of pause are usually offered to the entire team, either to be used as a mean to get some rest or deal with some injuries like the one Hairu had experienced.

Despite having an eccentric but amazing family waiting for him at his house, her Senpai would stay in her hospital room for the entire wouldn't show any sign of displeasure at being in such sterile place, nor he would appear winded by the long waits he would have to endure to be close to her.

It was his duty as a superior, the young man had reasoned, what kind of superior would let their subordinate to suffer alone terrible things like hospital food?

The very thought was enough to press a smile on her face as the funny question was oddly true. While Japanese hospital food was utterly delicious compared to any rumors she had heard about the foreigners' ones, it didn't have something that her stomach was craving for…

A hamburger. Hairu was craving a good hamburger from any place that wasn't the hospital. It was an odd desire, but one she was sure was originating from being stuck in bed for three long days eating the same type of food.

She glanced shyly at the sleeping senpai, contemplating if and how she should wake him up- Okay, it was only 'how' but her inner guilt let out that little word just to make it sound better and less selfish.

He was sleeping and, if Hairu remember correctly, he had been repeating to her since the mission that she could have wake him up without warranting any issue. He was fine with being woken up but…

Ugh! She didn't want to sound too childish with her request!

Just as her mind continued to elaborate a good way to wake up the sleeping youth, the door of the room slid open and her eyes fell on the figure she know well of. Tsuneyoshi Washuu gave her a piercing stare as he entered the room silently and closing the door behind.

Noticing the sleeping investigator, the elder merely sighed as he lifted his walking cane and slammed it back to the ground with a decisive strike. The sudden noise snapped Kaizo out of his rest, eyes widening in surprise but quickly taking notice of the director's patient look.

He stood up, his back straight as he saluted. "Tsuneyoshi-dono-"

"At ease, Ryouga-kun, you are not at work and… this is more of a personal visit."

The young man blinked and his posture complied with the superior's words, eyes slowly turning to the pinkette and-

She blushed. It wasn't the first time she would end up staring at her senpai but… with her own father in the room this whole situation went beyond embarrassing. Why did he even come here to begin with? Why couldn't it have been… Arima-niisan? Actually… no. That would have been worse.

"A personal visit?"

A nod from Tsuneyoshi brought some seriousness to the room. "Since you are here too, Ryouga-kun, then I can announce you two that tomorrow your presence will be required for an important function at the main headquarters of the CCG."

A function? Generally for this kind of summoning, the event had to be something incredibly important.

"S-Sir, is… is it about Kureo Mado?"

The Quinque Master? Hairu had only heard of the overly-eccentric and infamous investigator but to hear his name enunciated with such tone? It meant that something had happened to him. Maybe he was hospitalized too?

The Washuu patriarch nodded. "Kureo Mado-san has passed away yesterday noon after being ambushed by ghouls during an investigation in the 20th Ward."

A curt response compared to a long-winded report about this kind of developments, but it had enough substance to fill up Hairu's inner void about the subject. It was a surprising news, something that highlighted once again how close she had came to die because of quick-thinking.

Maybe if she had been unlucky, there would have been two deceased instead of one, maybe three-

"Hairu-san, is something wrong?" The calm question coming from her senpai's lips broke her out of her gloomy reverie, mouth twitching and eyes wetting as she had been this close to cry once again at that trail of thoughts. It had happened several times during her stay at the hospital, but none of those times her senior team-member had been close to see this part of her.

A frail part, one that she had been sharpened to never show or express during important moments. She could already see the old Washuu looking stern at her, as if trying to warn her off from crying in that moment and yet… it wasn't as strong as he would do during training.

There was a softening in the strict mask, something unusual but…

Could it be her senpai's presence be the cause of the lack of the usual stern attitude of the elder?

But why would it weigh so much to the stoic man? Why was Kaizo so important to him?

If her senpai had been just a simple pawn for the patriarch, he would have hardly been spared much of a glance and not this kind of courtesy. What was going on with her father?

"Ryouga-kun, do you plan to adjust your training schedule after the barely sufficient performance of the last mission?"

_What?_

Her senpai nodded with a small grimace. "I had. Tomorrow I meant to begin and-" He was stopped as he was offered a document by the elder. Wasting no time in picking it and reading it silently, his eyes widened the more he read.

"There is still an improvement, thus I decided to prepare a schedule that would fit best with the qualities and flaws described by your reports."

After delivering the paper, Tsuneyoshi walked to the door and opened it, stopping to glance at the pinkette. "Get well soon, Hairu-san."

The door slid close and the two remaining occupants were left in two different states of confusion. Kaizo thought about the exercises and activities listen in the quite extended regime that he had just been handed. Hairu felt like the world as she knew it had suddenly flipped without notice.

But as the girl thought about his last words, a familiar grumble made it clear to both her and her senpai that she was indeed angry. The young man stared up from the files and frowned at her, a teasing smile on his face as her face went fully red.

Today wasn't her day!

* * *

**AN**

**Leaving with this cliffhanger. I felt a little tired as today was a tiring day and… I will make things up by writing another chapter… soon. I don't think today, maybe tomorrow.**


	18. Case 3 - Lying Soul (END)

**The following is a fan-based**

**FICTION**

**Tokyo Ghoul, Tokyo Ghoul Root A and Tokyo Ghoul:re and other products related to the TG Series are all owned by Sui Ishida, Shin Towada and Shueisha.**

**Please support the official release.**

* * *

**Case 3:**** Lying Soul (END)**

* * *

The function for the late Kureo Mado was one relatively curt and restrained compared to the usual funeral. The man was remembered by some of his oldest companions and his last partner, Shinohara being the one speaking relatively well of the investigator while keeping a resemblance of dutiful respect for the deceased teammate.

Amon looked worse to wear, his patience almost shattering when he walked near a group of fellow investigators painting the Quinque Master in a very bad light.

A brawl would have broken up if it hadn't been for Marude intervening and chiding the disrespectful people and, while this might sounds hypocritical from someone that openly criticized Mado, the Special Class Investigator still held him on some higher pedestal than many assumed.

Speaking of the loud leader, the man had taken the interest to approach me and Hairu. The pinkette blinked, the wheelchair a clear contrast compared to the rest of the uninjured workers around the headquarters. I had decided to help her move around as a mean to properly apologize for my… lack of tact against Tatara.

"Kaizu-brat, I see that you are still up and fresh like a little rookie."

I smiled and nodded with a quick return to his greeting, mine polite to avoid… unpleasant reactions from the 'drill sergeant'. We might have bonded a little during the first mission, but that didn't put me in the position to joke around with him.

"And I see you brought with you your teammate." He made a brief bow with his head at my kohai. "May I ask about you, little lady?"

The girl blinked, a faint blush on her face as she gave a polite smile. "Investigator Rank 2, Ihei Hairu, Marude-san sir."

"So polite!" The man remarked loudly… giving me a glare at the same time. "I bet it's your fault somehow, Kaizo-brat. Already getting young girls to be as polite as you are, aren't you?!"

While I knew he was still joking, the tone he was using was quite 'convincing' at first and I almost thought he was being serious about it.

It was Hairu herself that failed to notice the joking note inside his words. "R- _Kaizo-senpai d-didn't do anything, Marude-san sir!_"

I kind of flinched when I saw the distraught look on her face kind of adding more to the naive misunderstanding of the pinkette. The senior officer panicked too, but he was more expressive of it as he had his hands gesturing as if to appease the distressed girl.

"I-I was merely joking here, Ha-_I mean_, Ihei-san." She seemed to calm down a little and her eyes were on me as if to have further confirmation of this. I nodded and she suddenly relaxed back to her normal composure.

"Understood."

The vocal ending of that situation made Marude sigh tiredly. "I guess I will go now and disturb you no more." He patted my back as he walked away, waving as he went to mingle with other members of the CCG.

"Senpai." My eyes returned to the pinkette, the girl fidgeting a little in her wheelchair. "Do you think that… Arima-_san_ is going to be there?"

I nodded almost immediately at her question. "He has to. It is an important function and all missions are either frozen or put in a hiatus until the event is concluded."

A cane tapped right at that exact moment and my back straightened in response. "Indeed, Ryouga-kun. Arima had been persuasive but-"

I slowly turned around, helping Hairu to do the same, and my sight found him… standing there, as if nothing had happened after all this time.

"-He was safely brought here for the ceremony."

Arima Kishou, he looked as strong as the first time I had seen him back in the hospital, but he seemed to lack the same 'presence' he had when he announced the supposed partnership I had with him. Gone was the usual smile, replaced by something more forced, constricted, something that made me suspicious about the relationship between him and the director.

Speaking of the elder- "Hairu-san, I hope your recovery is proceeding smoothly."

She nodded quite quickly. "I-It is, sir. I should be operative in a week-"

"Two weeks." Tsuneyoshi chided, sighing as he turned to the white-haired reaper. "Arima-san wished to talk with you about an important opportunity for you."

The man nodded and turned his stare at us once more. "Hairu-san, Kaizo-san, I wish to bring you to the folds of the task force I am leading."

...Seriously?

"Your reports showed impressive results during your missions and I think you would do better under my leadership and helping with the more difficult tasks the CCG has to face."

He had to wait this much to actually approach us? While Kureo Mado was by no mean someone I cared for, the respect that was supposedly needed to honor the death was meant to be reflected without bringing work in it.

Sure, the man would have been eager to have something like this to happen, but to actually have this kind of discussions happen in a funerary function? It was the unfunny joke nobody wanted to hear… ever.

I was about to reply with a dry 'no' but, much to my surprise, I was beaten to the punch by Hairu.

"A-actually, Arima-san, I don't think it would be correct f-for me to join the team."

Surprise appeared on the white-haired reaper's face and she continued.

"I- My inexperience almost caused me to fail my first mission. W-While I have studied enough to u-understand the struggles and duties of the work, I think I w-would need some experience first."

The pinkette looked at the ground, shoulders sagging as she looked like she had swallowed an entire lemon, one that she _had to_ swallow from the lack of hesitation in her expression.

"Then I guess I will have to decline as well." I stated quietly, patting the girl's shoulder in an attempt to show some support. "I don't wish to leave Hairu-san alone with this first part of the job. _It would be unwise for her senior partner to just vanish away._"

I didn't see a flinch, but the director nodded knowingly and… was he smiling there or was just a brief illusions?

"It would seem like your endeavor was a failure, Arima-san. Please do not ask further requests to the young man and woman if they don't wish to."

Something was storming within Arima, but from there, without any hints, it was difficult to decipher it.

His poker face was just that flawless and yet, between the silences here and there, I could almost perceive something going under those 'mere' bantering. Something important that was eluding my perception of things.

"Then we best be going." The director stated calmly as he turned around and started to walk away, the reaper following closely. "We _have_ some discussion to go through after all."

I blinked at the two retreating figures, trying to think more about this whole development. Arima did try to approach us there, he seemed genuinely interested in bringing both Hairu and I on his team and… I _knew_ that something was missing about this whole chat.

Yet the more I thought about it, the more I was graced with nothing but more confusions. All the roads led astray, not enough clues to build up some proper understanding of the play going there and-

"Senpai?"

Hairu tugged at my sleeve and I nodded. "Yes?"

"Why is… Juuzou-san looking like _that_."

A small headache started to form as I slowly turned my attention to Juuzou, the boy looking quite… dull as he sat on one of the couches placed on the farthest corners of the room.

Eyes staring up at the ceiling as Shinohara occupied the remaining seat, head shaking as a smile graced his face, possibly because Juuzou was pulling his… 'bored antic'.

"I think Juuzou is going insane if he doesn't get to see some familiar faces quite soon." I brought my mouth near her ear. "_If we get him happy, he might as well try out the dresses you bought for him_."

She let out a gasp, something close to a 'eep', but the reddening of her cheeks suggested she knew what I was talking about and… we went to met up with Juuzou.

* * *

"You are driving them from me."

The hallways and the rooms near the office of the elder Washuu were mostly empty, only the two individuals where in the floor as his son spoke.

"Accusing so openly your own father, Kishou?" A disappointed look was plastered on his old face. "Truly a shame you turned out like this."

"Why did you bring Hairu in this schemes, why this Ryouga Kaizo got you this interested on the affairs in the CCG?"

A brief pause, the elder sighed as he remembered that their respective minders were not around for the day. Just enough time for him to dispense his insolent child with some proper truth once for all.

"Because I am trying to build a plan to save the family, Kishou. The very family you wish to bring to dust and ashes."

The implication was clear. With the second 'family', the Washuu was referring to the 'extended' one, the one made by half-humans.

"W-What?" Eyes widening, Tsuneyoshi smiled at the terrified expression on the reaper's face.

"Do you seriously think that the minders keeping an eye for you are only those under V's control?" He tapped the desk with his sore fingers. "My own spies, professionals at their jobs, already notified your little 'rebellion' way before Aogiri Tree was created. Your steps were never safe to start with."

Arima took once more the initiative, trying to hide the uncertainty spreading on his face. "B-But then why didn't you intervene?"

"To what end would I try to kill off what is causing V to sweat nervously? Why should I remove one of the possible solutions to a very possible issue? Aogiri is a working reason to keep Investigators around, to increase the number of loyal officers in our folds."

The director paused again, this time relaxed on his chair. "Kaizo will be the one heading the family, not Yoshitoki and...Matsuri-kun."

…

"_What?_"

"Do you know who was the first half-human, Kishou?"

The sudden question froze his first confusion, a new one rising as he felt the… topic shifting to be oddly related to the situation.

"My half-sister, Yasuko, was the illegitimate child of my father, Yoshiu, and was barely few months old when she was smuggled out by the Garden by my traitorous uncle. The first half-human_ stolen_ by an inept and… he ended up making something good out of it."

Arima didn't spoke, letting the elder continue with this tale.

"She was groomed like a normal girl, to live with the others, to go to public school, and marry someone she loved all under a false name. The man that she married? His name was Ryouga Kitaro."

_...No._

"They lived a long life, seeing their own child, an average boy, but sadly not their grand-child. Ryouga Koshiro and Nasumi were killed by a Ghoul attack, their only child surviving and… becoming the one you know as Ryouga Kaizo."

"You mean that-"

"Ryouga Kaizo represents what you failed to be, the results of our ambitions… rewarded by the determined rebellion of my sister to our family. It is quite… poetic but… intriguing." He smiled again. "He has quite the good heart and impressive mind. He will make a good director and head of the family."

"T-That is- He wouldn't accept this-"

"He will, Kishou." The confidence was palpable. "He is an orphan and, no matter how much he tries to create an artificial family out of colleagues and friends, the need, no, the _crave _of having someone to call his very family will out-play his hesitation."

"Is that why Hairu-"

"The discovery of our connection happened after my decision to punish you, Kishou. Even in the case he wasn't as special as he is now, the boy was still an important asset, one that you were eagerly letting down with your lack of judgment. But now? Now things will fit even better with the two developing feelings for each other and… do you want to know the most curious of things?"

He didn't ask, he knew he was going to hear it anyway and… yet he didn't want to. But Tsuneyoshi spoke, the smug in his voice a new element that further teared at his nerves.

"I am not doing anything about it." He stated with the most pleased of faces. "They are falling in love on their own and when the flower will mature to an acceptable state… I will bring him in to reveal all of this."

"So you truly don't care about the thoughts of the family." Kishou remarked with a small furious undertone in his words. "You just wish to manipulate things to please only yourself."

"Once again wrong, Kishou. But this time I will allow it because you are _so_ unaware about your 'student'... and his current ward." Photos were now displayed on the desk and Arima got a simple glimpse of the smiling young man walking around with a… child?

"In his first mission, the one he was doing with Marude, he ended up finding a one-eyed ghoul, a child, being fed by her mother… 'the cannibal'." He sighed, a _strange_ expression on his face. A mix of softening but also renewal. "He _did_ break the rules by lying to his superior but… he didn't do a half-baked job."

Documents, bills, false certificates and… papers about buying new furniture for his house. "All done so carefully that, if he hadn't been given minders to dig more about the mission, I would have completely ignored and never known from the way he was keeping things hidden."

There was a pregnant moment of silent and he could feel a change within the elder as he found a stern glare directed at him. Tsuneyoshi looked deadly for a moment, even worse than when he was officially overseeing for his training back at the Garden.

"I might let you go around with the 'girl' and her delusional plan to 'change things', Kishou, but I will _dispose _of you if you dare to even approach my plans once more. You, your plans and your dreams will be crushed before you will even manage to react at the first attack-" **SNAP**

Kishou barely dodged the strike directed at him as the director held the wooden sword near his face for few more moments. "This is your first and only warning. Go back to the function, _Kishou_."

And the reaper complying, leaving the office quickly and even more confused. Not by the sudden revelation and the relation he had with his 'student' but by the fact old man had just shown him something… strange, something different from the usual.

**It was genuine familial concern for the boy and… that left him quite disturbed.**

* * *

**AN**

**Kaizo is unique and he is not a half-human… whaaaaaaat?**

**He is human as the Ghoul genome in his blood has been diluted twice by Human DNA and… he is something more. Still human but- **

**I will explain soon, bringing up some expert on the matter and… maybe he will do a good job, yes.**

**REVIEW Q&A!**

**XenoLucifer****: Close but… not quite. His grandma was a half-human and her DNA was diluted twice in the family. The drawback of the Half-Human kind, the accelerated aging, has been lost in the two generations in exchange of a slightly weakened physical growth. What does it mean? The training schedule will bring out more about it. Still, good try. I wonder what other theories you have now. :)**


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